Changes in the top management of the transmission system operator

Ludmila Petranova - a member of the CEPS Executive Board and the Director of the CEPS economic and finance section was appointed General Manager of the company. The previous chairman of the Executive Board and General Manager of the company Ales Tomec was removed from his position as member and chairman of the Executive Board of the company by its 100% owner, CEZ Power Company. Consequently he also resigned from the position of General Director.

The decision of the CEZ Executive Board resulted from a conflict of interests on the part of Mr. Ales Tomec as he was simultaneously the chairman of the CEPS Executive Board and a member of the executive board of one of the operators in the electricity market. Such a conflict of interests is unacceptable with regard to the transparency of the newly emerging system of the electricity market, especially now, at a time of growing criticism of allegedly insufficient transparency and the continuing privatisation process. Such a strict attitude has to be applied despite the fact that in terms of dividing the transmission system from the production system, the Czech Republic has gone much further than many EU member countries. The transmission system in the Czech Republic is separated not only in terms of accounting and legal systems, but also in terms of management, as there is no CEZ representative in the Executive Board and only one CEZ representative in the Supervisory Board (out of six members) who is charged with formal reviewing of the company's economic performance.

The market operator has a key position in the newly emerging electricity market, because it will be the instrumental medium through which the market entrants will be closing all long-term and short-term contracts. If we do not want the market environment to be discredited in the very beginning, no other market entrant can have access to the information held by the market operator.

CEZ would like to leave no doubts as to its efforts to make the Czech electricity market as transparent as possible, which is why Mr. Tomec's position on the CEPS Executive Board was filled by Mr. Arnost Poul, a renowned manager from the power industry and a former general manager of Opatovice Power Plants, who is currently in charge of the strategic development of the distribution company VĂ˝chodoceska energetika. CEZ would thus like to prevent any potential rumours about the pressure exerted on CEPS in the area of transmission system management.

The new CEPS Executive Board has the following members: Ludmila Petranova, Vladimir Reznicek (director of the CEPS section of Development and Business Strategy), Arnost Poul.

Ladislav Kriz, CEZ Press Officer

21. 11. 2001