CEZ debt, 500 million USD

Top Channel learned that the debt for the CEZ Company has reached 500 billion ALL, or 500 million USD, without calculating the delay fees.

This number is equal with 5% of the national GDP, and it gets even bigger with the involvement of the delay fees.

The debt has increased especially in the last two years. On December 2009, it was smaller than 20 billion ALL, and only in two years it increased more than 2.5 times.

CEZ leaders explain why the debt is increasing. First of all, it is related with the war against illegal losses, when people who steal energy are charged with a 4000 KW hour bill.

Secondly, it is the energy price increase. The same amount of unpaid energy brings a bigger debt, due to the price increase.

Another reason, according to CEZ, was the government’s amnesty for the unpaid bills, which created a wrong perception among the public, by encouraging individuals to not pay the energy.

But another reason of the price increase is that CEZ has not been able to improve the encashment.  Although the institutions have had several debates for the encashment levels, the numbers keeps being really slow.

According to the report of the auditing company, Deloit, the encashment were 81.7% in 2008, 76.5% in 2009 and 81.9% in 2010.

But the ERE gives other numbers, 77.2% in 2010, and if they would not calculate the unpaid debts, it would go to 70.1%.

The encashment indicator is even lower this year, and according to the ERE, this means that the company continues creating a new debt.

The Ministry of Finances is currently reviewing the debt chain in the energy sector, where CEZ, KESH and OST have created an entangled network of debts within each other, including the institutions that owe CEZ money.

Top Channel