Utility CEZ issued an unexpected message Tuesday to the companies vying to build two new reactors in the Czech Republic: Try harder.
Westinghouse and a consortium led by Rosatom entered discussions with CEZ earlier this month regarding their bids to provide new units at the Temelin nuclear plant. On Czech television, a CEZ spokesman said his company expects "a major improvement in all respects" to both proposals, adding that the reactor builders likely haven't expressed their "last word" on the initial bids, Agence France-Presse reported.
At stake is a turnkey project estimated to be worth between $10 billion and $15 billion. In a release last month, Westinghouse announced it was ranked ahead of Rosatom in the competition. CEZ hasn't elaborated further on what it anticipates from the bidding process going forward, but it has said earlier it plans to sign a construction contract by the end of the year.