PRAGUE, Sept 3 (Reuters) - The Czech anti-monopoly office UOHS said on Tuesday it had started official proceedings on appeals from Westinghouse and EDF against the choice of South Korea's Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Company (KHNP) as preferred bidder to build two nuclear reactors in the Czech Republic.

Legal disputes are a potential sticking point in the tender for building two 1,000 megawatt units in the largest-ever Czech procurement deal, expected to be worth about $18 billion at current prices.

The Czechs plan to use the new units, together with small modular reactors and renewable sources, to replace a fleet of coal-fired plants as well as some older nuclear reactors that are nearing the end of their lifespan.

UOHS said in a statement it could not estimate how long the appeals process would run due to the complexity of the issue.

UOHS said the EDF complaint demanded that UOHS cancels decisions by a unit of the majority state-owned CEZ (CEZP.PR) , opens new tab on evaluating bids.

The Westinghouse complaint focused on usage of a national security exception that suspended public procurement rules, it said. It also appealed a decision not to be invited into the second round of the tender.

CEZ had earlier said that it believed that the security exception made it impossible to challenge the process at the anti-monopoly office. It had no immediate comment on Tuesday.

Westinghouse was not invited for the final round of bidding, in which KHNP beat EDF, after it failed to put in a binding bid.

The government and CEZ hope to conclude negotiations with KHNP and sign contracts by next March, and complete the first reactor by 2036.

Westinghouse said in a statement last week it had appealed also on the grounds that KHNP did not have a licensing agreement to export its reactors, which are based on Westinghouse technology.

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https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/czech-watchdog-starts-proceedings-appeals-against-nuclear-power-tender-2024-09-03/