EDF and KHNP will make offers in the nuclear tender by Tuesday, the state will find out the price of several blocks

In the coming days, the state will find out how much it will cost to build more nuclear units in the Czech Republic. The deadline for submitting binding bids for their construction expires on Tuesday, the French EDF and the Korean KHNP are interested. Both companies have already confirmed that they will submit offers. The semi-state company ČEZ, which is in charge of the tender, will then analyze the bids and should hand them over to the government in June. It should then decide who will be the winner of the tender and at the same time how many blocks should be built in the Czech Republic in the future. According to current plans, the first of them should be built by 2036.

The government invited EDF and KHNP to submit binding bids for more reactors at the end of January this year. It made the decision after analyzing the first offers for the construction of one reactor in Dukovany, which also included non-binding options for other units. According to Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS), the non-binding offers of bidders for the construction of several reactors were up to 25 percent more favorable than the construction of only one unit. He did not specify the offered prices. On the other hand, the North American company Westinghouse dropped out of the trio of applicants for the nuclear tender, which, according to the cabinet, did not meet the conditions of the original tender.

The deadline for submitting extended binding offers was originally set for April 15. However, after EDF’s request, it was finally moved to the end of April. In connection with the new deadline, both contacted companies confirmed that they will submit their offer.

The government’s strategic documents on energy also envisage the construction of more blocks. According to them, two new banks could be created in Dukovany and two in Temelín.

The new reactor project should be the largest Czech investment in modern history, according to earlier statements by the government and ČEZ, one new reactor should cost about CZK 160 billion in 2020 prices. Government representatives refused to comment on the prices offered in the initial bids. Some economists estimated in January that the construction of four reactors could cost up to two trillion crowns.

The Czech Republic currently has six nuclear units in two power plants. Two units, each with a capacity of approximately 1,000 megawatts (MW), are located in Temelín in South Bohemia. Four smaller blocks with an output of 510 MW are located in Dukovany in the Třebíč region. In addition to new classic reactors, ČEZ is also preparing the construction of small modular reactors. The first of them should be created in Temelín.