PRAGUE, Czech Republic – Czech energy utility CEZ said Wednesday it will challenge a court injunction that has temporarily blocked its $18 billion nuclear plant deal with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, vowing to move forward with the project and minimize delays and related costs.
The company announced it will file an appeal next week with the Czech Supreme Administrative Court against the Brno Regional Court’s decision to grant a preliminary injunction requested by French energy firm EDF, which lost the bid to supply two nuclear reactors for the Dukovany site.
“We will file a motion next week with the Czech Supreme Administrative Court to dismiss the injunction,” CEZ Group CEO Daniel Benes said at an energy seminar held at Liechtenstein Palace in Prague. “Given how important this matter is to the national interest, we expect the court to handle it swiftly.”
On Tuesday, the Brno Regional Court approved EDF’s request, preventing Elektrarna Dukovany II, a CEZ subsidiary, from signing the contract with KHNP. The signing ceremony, scheduled for Wednesday, was canceled.
“We reviewed all bids transparently and objectively. KHNP’s bid was the strongest across all criteria — price guarantees, adherence to timelines, and reliability,” Beneš said, emphasizing that KHNP submitted “by far the most outstanding” and advantageous offer for the country.
“The chosen supplier will be our partner for the next 60 to 80 years — or nearly 100 years when factoring in construction, operation, and decommissioning. That’s why we were extremely cautious in selecting our partner.”
CEZ said its evaluation focused on how well each bidder met the outlined requirements, including binding price guarantees to prevent cost overruns and assurances of stable electricity prices.
Benes added that EDF not only failed to meet CEZ’s requirements, but also has a track record of projects abroad facing cost and schedule overruns. He urged EDF to publicly disclose its bid proposal if it believes its offer was competitive.
“We held several rounds of negotiations with EDF’s top management and repeatedly explained what needed improvement, but none of our requirements were reflected in their final bid,” said Tomas Pleskac, CEZ’s head of new energy projects.
Meanwhile, Czech authorities said they will continue preparatory work for the KHNP contract to avoid compounding costs from delays. This includes drafting documents for EU notification, securing regulatory approvals from the nuclear safety authority, and advancing related investments.
“There’s the question of whether to call for a rebid, but doing so risks missing our 2036 carbon-free target,” said EDU II CEO Petr Zavodsky. “Even with the court’s injunction, we must decide whether to continue using shareholder funds to stay on schedule, as every delay increases costs.”
The deal — the largest public procurement project in Czech history — involves building two 1,055-megawatt nuclear reactors at the Dukovany Nuclear Power Plant. It also marks Korea’s first nuclear reactor export since 2009.
Construction is scheduled to begin in 2029, with the first reactor targeted to start operation in 2036.
By Jo He-rim (herim@heraldcorp.com) & Joint Press Corps
