Areva appeals Temelin bid disqualification

Tuesday, 23 October 2012

Areva has appealed against Czech utility CEZ's decision to dismiss its bid from the tender process for the construction of two new units at the Temelin nuclear power plant.

On 5 October, CEZ told Areva that its bid for the contract for Temelin units 3 and 4 had been disqualified as it "failed to meet statutory requirements" under the Czech Republic's Public Procurement Act and that the company "had not fulfilled some other crucial criteria defined in the tender." At that time, Areva said that it would appeal against the decision.

On 19 October - the deadline for Areva to make an appeal - the company said that it had "provided detailed objections to each of the reasons for exclusion raised by CEZ and believes that its comprehensive and detailed offer, handed to CEZ last July, is in full compliance with the statutory requirements as well as the tender criteria."

Areva said that it is confident its offer to CEZ for the completion of Temelin units 3 and 4 "is the most competitive with the EPR reactor which meets the highest safety standards..." The company "remains committed to this project and related activities, notably the cooperation with the Czech industry."

CEZ will have ten days to review Areva's appeal and publish its decision, Bloomberg reported. Should the utility reject Areva's claim, Areva can then refer the appeal to the Czech anti-monopoly office.

The tender process for the new Temelin units was launched in August 2009. In November 2011, CEZ released detailed tender documentation defining the full scope of the public contract, including commercial and technical requirements for the supply of two complete nuclear power plant blocks on a full turn-key basis, including the nuclear fuel assemblies for nine years of operation. At the same time, it formally invited three candidates - Areva; a consortium between Škoda JS, AtomStroyExport and OKB Gidropress; and Westinghouse - to submit their bids for Temelin units 3 and 4.

All three contenders submitted documentation supporting their respective bids in late June 2012. Areva put forward its EPR design, the AtomStroyExport consortium's bid is based on Gidropress' MIR-1200 third generation VVER model, while Westinghouse's bid is based on its AP1000. Each vendor submitted a commercial proposal, a technical proposal and a proposal for the supply of nuclear fuel.

The Czech utility expects to select the reactor supplier and sign the construction contract by the end of 2013.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News