Czech Republic: Newbuild Bids Submitted as EC Signs Off on Initial Financing

The European Commission this week signed off on the Czech Republic's plans to finance a new reactor, even as planners received binding bids from EDF and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) to supply that reactor plus a further three units. As engineers and executives at state-owned nuclear operator Cez evaluate these bids, the government must now scramble to find some way of financing the three further large newbuilds. The scheme approved this week for one newbuild at the Dukovany plant — effectively a subsidized state loan for the entire €6 billion capital cost of the project, alongside a 40-year contract-for-difference (CFD) fixing a price for the output of the plant — may prove untenable across four newbuilds.