PM Babiš: Decision on ČEZ’s expansion should come this year

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) wants a decision on financing majority state-owned utility ČEZ’s nuclear power plant expansion by year’s end, he told Reuters in an interview.

The Prague-listed company has refused to invest in new plants without some form of state support. Instead, it proposes spinning off its renewables and energy services, leaving coal and nuclear sources in state hands.

Babiš says ČEZ is big enough to build new nuclear units without being split up and wants a subsidiary to be the main vehicle to build new reactors. ČEZ operates plants in Dukovany and Temelín that together covered 38 per cent of Czech energy needs last year. Its Dukovany reactors start to expire around 2035.

Author: Brian Kenety