CEZ : ČEZ evaluated bids for the construction of a new nuclear unit and named its preferred bidder, with results submitted to Ministry of Industry and Trade

14. 6. 2024

Nuclear power plants

ČEZ evaluated bids for the construction of a new nuclear unit and named its preferred bidder, with results submitted to Ministry of Industry and Trade

Elektrárna Dukovany II (EDU II), a wholly owned subsidiary of ČEZ, submitted its evaluation report to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MIT), evaluating bids for the construction of a new nuclear unit at Dukovany. In the report, it recommended the ranking, proposing its preferred supplier of a new nuclear unit or units. The Government of the Czech Republic will now issue its statement as to with whom ČEZ will negotiate the final form of the contracts.

In the previous months, more than 180 experts from ČEZ Group and beyond scrutinised bids by the French EdF and Korean KHNP, evaluating the financial, commercial, and technical aspects. "The bid evaluation model was based on recommendations of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). All price inputs and risks have been quantified. Both offers were compared according to the same criterion, namely to the price per one megawatt hour generated, at which each contender's new unit would generate electricity," said Board Member and head of ČEZ's New Energy Division Tomáš Pleskač.

EDU II has submitted its evaluation report to the Ministry of Industry and Trade. "I can confirm that we have received the evaluation report from ČEZ Group. The government now has an opportunity to express its opinion on the report from the perspective of national security interests. We will announce the selection of the preferred contender in July and inform about how we will use the option for the construction of additional nuclear units in Dukovany and Temelín," said Minister of Industry and Trade Jozef Síkela.

The contracts are expected to be finalised this year and ready for signature by 31 March 2025. If the form of the contracts starts to significantly diverge from the bid submitted, the bidder ranking second may be asked to enter negotiations.

Once the contracts are signed, thorough drafting of the project documentation will follow, such that the deadline for starting test operation of the new unit in 2036 would be attainable.

Support for the development of nuclear energy among the general public in the Czech Republic has long been above 70 percent, which is a uniquely high number in Europe, as shown by a long-term survey conducted by IBRS.

Simultaneously with the tender, ČEZ's wholly owned subsidiary Elektrárna Dukovany II, a. s., (EDU II) is working on other parts of the project. After the Ministry of the Environment issued an affirmative environmental impact assessment (EIA) in 2019, the project also got a placement permit from the State Authority for Nuclear Safety, and authorisation of the generation unit from the Ministry of Industry and Trade. A zoning permit that is not yet final was issued on 30 October 2023.

Ladislav Kříž , CEZ spokesman