Nationalisation of CEZ makes no economic sense - minister

Prague, Sept 8 (CTK) - The nationalisation of semi-state energy group CEZ would not make economic sense and would have a negative impact on the company's debt and state budget revenues, Industry and Trade Minister Lukas Vlcek said in a discussion on Czech Television (CT) on Sunday.

According to opposition ANO movement deputy chair and former industry minister Karel Havlicek, the nationalisation of CEZ is necessary for stable energy prices and further investment. The state’s full takeover of CEZ would take about a year to a year and a half, he said.

The purchase of shares from minority shareholders should be ensured by CEZ and would cost about Kc250bn, according to Havlicek.

CEZ is one of the largest energy companies in the Czech Republic. Its majority shareholder is the state, which holds about 70 percent of the shares through the Finance Minstry, while the rest is held by private shareholders.

Havlicek said the state must fully control the country's key energy company in order to invest in nuclear and gas and maintain stable energy prices.The current shareholder structure complicates those plans, because minority shareholders have an interest in high energy prices for higher profits, he said.

However, according to Vlcek, buying shares from minority shareholders would have consequences for the company's debt and the state budget, as the company would not pay dividends from its profits. "It makes no economic sense," he said.

Transport Minister Martin Kupka also disagreed with the nationalisation of CEZ. "I don't see a good perspective in it," he said. According to him, it would make more sense if CEZ invested its profits in new energy sources, headed by nuclear units, modular reactors, energy storage and other new energy elements.

The state recently bought from CEZ a majority stake in its subsidiary Elektrarna Dukovany II (EDU II), which is responsible for the construction of new nuclear units at the Dukovany nuclear power plant. It will pay Kc3.6bn for an 80 percent stake. CEZ continues to hold the remaining one-fifth stake.

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