(Bloomberg) -- Electricite de France SA filed a complaint last month to the European Union competition regulator over a Czech utility’s decision to pick a Korean state-owned group as a preferred bidder for the construction of two nuclear reactors.
EDF wants to ensure that Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co.’s offer to CEZ AS respects fundamental European principles, laws and regulations, the French utility — which lost the Czech tender against the Korean group earlier this year — told Bloomberg in a statement Tuesday.
The French state-owned company is seeking to alert the European Commission over the planned contract — worth about 200 billion koruna ($8.7 billion) per reactor — as it suspects the Korean government might provide KHNP with subsidies, especially in case of cost overruns during the construction of the nuclear project in Dukovany.
The result of the Czech tender has been closely watched as several European nations plan to build new atomic plants to reduce the use of fossil fuels and meet climate targets.
EDF filed its complaint last month to the Commission, which can use the bloc’s foreign subsidies regulation to assess the contract. The regulator has used it in the past to crack down on bidding from Chinese groups for a railway tender in Bulgaria, as well as solar parks in Romania.
Online media Euractiv first reported on EDF’s complaint to the Commission.
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