CEZ, government steps back
21/04/2012 19:35
Democratic MP Sula defends the opposition’s protest: A people sleeping in democracy wakes up in a dictatorship 08/10 21:10
The visit of the Czech Prime Minister in Tirana has reached its goal for
convincing the Albanian government to create facilities for the CEZ
Company. Top Channel has learned that the Albanian Government has
accepted to review the decision of the Energy Regulatory Entity, which
increased the price with which the Albanian Energy Corporation (KESH)
sells energy to CEZ.
The decision that entered in act since January 1st 2012, increased the price from 1.48ALL KWh to 2.83 ALL, without changing the consumer’s fee.
But after the Prime Ministers of both countries had a meeting, the Albanian government conceded by promising to review the decision. The news was confirmed by the Czech media. The daily “Prague Post” writes that both Prime Ministers have reached an agreement, according to which the mother company in Prague is engaged to invest more capital for facing the financial losses of CEZ in Albania, and the Albanian government will review the energy price chain.
Confidential sources declared for Top Channel that the most possible variant is that KESH will reduce the price from 2.83 ALL KWh, and it will be seen as a price increase of the price that CEZ benefits.
But what will our government lose?
Calculations show that if the KESH price will be reduced from 2.83 to 2.2 ALL per KWh, the KESH revenues will shrink with 33 million USD annually. But KESH is on a financial crisis of its own. Last year’s drought and CEZ debts, which mount up to 100 million USD, have ruined the finances of the corporation.
This means that the financial burden for the price review will be charged to the citizens again, because the government will be obliged to give new money from the budget, in order to guarantee the energy import as in the last year.
The price review means that for the three next years, the Albanian company will give other 100 million USD to CEZ, a number equal to the debts that the Czech Company owes to KESH.
In the last years, the through which KESH sells energy to CEZ has changed several time by the government and the Energy Regulation Entity. ERE decided to reduce the KESH price from 2.02 to 1.48 ALL per KWh, but this didn’t have the government’s consent, which caused the ERE chairman to be removed from his duty.
On last December, the ERE did the contrary. They increased the price for KESH from 1.48 to 2.83 ALL per KWh, a decision that damaged the CEZ finances.
These frequent price movements seem more like a desperate effort of the government to keep the balance in a chaotic and unbundled financial market, where the two main companies, CEZ and KESH, are facing deep financial troubles.
Top Channel
