The Czech Press Agency reports that the state Energy Regulation Office is ready to regulate the system services market in 2002, the price of system service should be set at CZK 150 per MWh (vs. CZK 169 per MWh in 2001). CEZ opposes the regulation, and lobbies for an unregulated market for system services. We expected the market to be regulated, and CZK 150 per MWh is in line with our expectations; i.e., it is neutral news. (Although the issue of the system service fee is not completely new, we believe that the market price does not fully reflect the positive impact of system fees on CEZ profitability.)
(Jiri Soustruznik)