Czech Consortium Wins Ten-Year Contract to Modernise Dukovany I&C Systems

ČEZ awarded a ten-year contract on 5 March 2026 to a Czech consortium led by control‑system supplier ZAT and longtime plant contractor I&C Energo to replace key instrumentation and control systems across all four generating units at the Dukovany nuclear power plant. The work explicitly includes replacement of the unit control systems of the primary and secondary circuits on every unit, a scope ČEZ framed as part of a programme to ensure long-term operation.

ZAT will deliver its SandRA control systems, with SandRA identified as Safe and Reliable Automation, and is responsible for the technical concept of the modernisation, a concept the company has been working on since 2020. I&C Energo, which has been operating at Dukovany since 1993 and has participated in most of the plant’s major modernisation work, will provide installation, commissioning and engineering services under the consortium arrangement.

WNN documentation of the award stresses that the ten-year modernisation project must avoid any negative impact on the continued stable operation of the units, putting operational continuity at the heart of the programme. Replacing unit control systems for both the primary and secondary circuits while keeping four units online in sequence creates a complex migration and commissioning challenge for ZAT, I&C Energo and ČEZ’s operations teams.

ČEZ’s investment posture frames the contract within broader fleet spending. Bohdan Zronek, Director of ČEZ’s nuclear energy division, said, “We invest an average of approximately CZK7 billion(USD 333 million) a year in our nuclear power plants. The goal is to strengthen efficiency, safety and ensure long-term operation. And the replacement of the Dukovany control system elements falls into this area.” Dukovany, one of two nuclear power stations in the Czech Republic, supplies roughly 40 percent of national electricity, underlining the strategic importance of the work.

The company announcements and trade reporting do not disclose a contract price for the ten-year I&C modernisation. Key implementation details remain outstanding, including the contract start schedule, phasing across unit outages, funding mechanics and any regulatory approvals required from the Czech nuclear regulator SÚJB. Those items will determine how ZAT’s SandRA systems are migrated into live plant control and how I&C Energo stages commissioning without degrading unit availability.

For plant staff and supply‑chain partners, the award signals the start of a decade-long programme of control-system renewal at a large, operating four-unit PWR site. ČEZ and the consortium now face the twin tasks of executing ZAT’s technical concept, which has been in development since 2020, and meeting the regulatory and operational milestones needed to preserve Dukovany’s roughly 40 percent contribution to the Czech grid across the modernisation period.