Czechs extend lifespan of major nuclear plant by 20 years, second plant under review (updated)

Korea Electric Power

09/04/2026 13:23

Adds second plant under review, background

PRAGUE, April 9 (Reuters) - The Czech Republic will extend the lifespan of the existing four units of the Dukovany nuclear power plant by 20 years, to 80 years, and keep them running until 2065-2067, Industry and Trade Minister Karel Havlicek said on Thursday.

Dukovany, owned by the majority state-owned power company CEZ CEZP.PR, was opened in 1985-1987 and its Soviet-designed VVER reactors have capacity of just over 2,000 megawatts.

The decision follows some other nuclear plant lifespan extensions, especially in France, as countries look to secure sufficient supplies after the gradual end of fossil fuels.

The decision means that for an extended period the old units will be running alongside two new 1,000-megawatt  units to be built at the Dukovany site under a contract with South Korea's KHNP 015760.KS by the late 2030s.

CEZ Chief Executive Daniel Benes said a similar analysis on extending the operating life was underway for CEZ's second nuclear power plant Temelin, which operates two 1,086-megawatt units.

 CEZ is also looking at building several new-generation small modular reactors, and has taken a
minority stake
 in a unit of Britain's Rolls Royce developing the reactors.

 The Czech Republic depends mostly on nuclear and coal plants for electricity production, with coal units expected to be phased out by around 2030, although the current government as been keen to keep some coal capacity running to ensure energy security.

(Reporting by Jan Lopatka, editing by Jason Hovet and Chizu Nomiyama )

((jan.lopatka@thomsonreuters.com; +420 234 721 614; Reuters Messaging: jan.lopatka.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net/))