Electrabel, one of the four short-listed bidders in the CEZ tender, said yesterday that it pulls out of the tender. Electrabel was not considered to be a hot candidate, the news is therefore only marginally negative (Czech Press Agency).
Separately, the Czech Press Agency (CTK) reports that Austria is expected to attempt to block the preliminary closing of the Czech energy chapter toward EU accession due to Austria’s opposition to the Czech Republic’s Temelin nuclear power plant (the closing of the chapter is one of the conditions that must be fulfilled before the Czech Republic joins the EU). The Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Austria is bound by the Melk agreement (a framework for Temelin’s safety assessment) to agree with the energy chapter’s closure. The Melk process should be formally concluded within weeks. Marginally negative at the moment.CEZ: Austria is expected to attempt to block the closing of the energy chapter due to Temelin.
CTK also reports that the new eventual owner of CEZ will be committed to the purchase of approx. 30 mil. tons of coal (the estimated volume purchased by CEZ in 2000) per year for 15 years from domestic coal miners subsequent to privatization. Expected; bidders probably had anticipated the condition.
(Jiri Soustruznik)