
Translated by Milo Dvorak
7. 4. 2024
Business Newsletter #22
Published by HN on 3 April 2024.
The CEZ Group plans to sell part of its assets in Poland, including two coal-fired power stations. The semi state-owned energy company will first probe the market, followed by a call for non-binding offers. This information comes from the company's website, as highlighted by e15.cz on Tuesday. The sale of selected Polish companies aligns with CEZ Group's plan for decarbonising production.
The assets included in the divestment process comprise two coal-fired power stations with combined electricity and heat production. Last year, CEZ Skawina and CEZ Chorzów power plants produced a total of 1,390 gigawatt hours of electricity and 5,649 terajoules of heat. CEZ Skawina, holding approximately a 25% share, is the second-largest heat supplier to Krakow, and CEZ Chorzów is among the largest heat suppliers to Katowice and other urban agglomerations in Silesia.
In addition to production sources, CEZ wants to probet market interest in CEZ Produkty Energetyczne Polska, a provider of specialised support services for handling secondary energy products. CEZ Polska, which, among other things, monitors energy regulation and legislation in Poland, is also for sale.
"The sale of the above-mentioned select Polish companies is in line with the CEZ Group's business strategy focused on decarbonising the production portfolio and achieving climate neutrality by 2040," CEZ states. It thus intends to maintain and further develop only those Polish companies that are focused on providing modern energy services. These include CEZ Energo Polska and the Elevion group companies, offering solutions for decarbonisation and energy efficiency.
The CEZ Group entered the Polish energy market in 2006 by purchasing the American-PSEG-owned Skawina and Chorzów power stations. CEZ has already attempted to sell its production assets in Poland once before. However, in November 2021, it ceased its attempts, stating the reason was that the offered prices for five Polish companies were not attractive enough.
CEZ is one of the largest energy companies in the Czech Republic. The state is its majority shareholder, holding approximately 70% of the shares through the Ministry of Finance. Last year, the group's net profit fell by 63% to 29.6 billion crowns. The main reason was the significant impact of one-off taxes and levies, through which the company paid around 40 billion crowns. Nevertheless, besides the record year of 2022, last year, CEZ had the highest profits in the last decade.