CEZ continues in the tender for the Macedonian distribution company AD ESM

15. 3. 2006

CEZ Power Company has today submitted a binding offer for the majority share in the company AD ESM. The tender for a 90% share in the only Macedonian power distributor was announced at the end of last year. CEZ entered the tender for the distribution company in December 2005, and was short-listed, together with other three parties interested, at the turn of the year.

By submitting our bid, we confirm our interest in the Macedonian power industry. It is located in our target region, in South-Eastern Europe, and it is connected with the countries where CEZ Group is already fast operating. CEZ's advantage is the fact that it has recently undergone power sector restructuring in the Czech Republic and that it successfully took over distribution companies in Bulgaria and Romania. Today, CEZ is one of the most profitable and, at the same time, the least indebted European power industry. We will gladly bring our experience to Macedonia on the way to our goal which is becoming number one on electricity markets in Central and South-Eastern Europe, said Martin Roman, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of CEZ.

AD ESM serves 721 thousand end customers and sells 4.4 TWh of electricity in a year. Besides distribution, the company owns 11 small water power plants with the total installed capacity of 38 MW. Macedonia produces ca 6.2 TWh of electricity in a year. Thermal power plants account for more than three quarters of the electricity production, the remaining part of 1.5 TWh is produced in water power plants. Electricity imports account for nearly 16 % of the yearly consumption, the total consumption in a year 2004 was roughly 7.4 TWh, for the year 2005 consumption of 7.7 TWh is estimated.

Eva Novakova, Press Officer, CEZ, a. s.