CEZ was the first European utility to receive the Edison Electric Institute International Utility Award for superior performance

The CEZ's recent success is the outcome of strategic acquisitions in Central and Southeastern Europe, structure of the generation fleet, and cost optimization strategies. Due to CEZ impressive results, it is with great pride that I present the EEI International Utility first place award in the Large Cap category to this very company, said Mr. Tomas Kunhn, the president of EEI at the Award Ceremony.

We are honored to receive the Award from the Edison Electric Institute. This is the first time that a Czech company has achieved such a remarkable success recognized by international capital markets. To receive the EEI Award is not just honor for us. It also confirms that our shareholders are confident that we are able to deliver them superior value. I am happy to see that CEZ has outperformed the other European utilities by a big margin. The second best utility, which actually operates in the region of Central Europe like CEZ, has achieved only half of our growth. This result clearly confirms that we have the right corporate strategy and are able to execute it quickly, said Martin Roman, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of CEZ.

Best performing European utilities

	Total	Utility Type	3 Yr Total return to shareholders	Large Cap Category Market Cap > $10 Billion	Small Cap Category Market Cap < $10 Billion
CEZ	1.	Electric	780,1 %	1.	-
Verbund	2.	Electric	378,5 %	2.	-
Fortum Oyj	3.	Electric	324,3 %	3.	-
International Power	4.	IPP	291,2 %	4.
ACEA	5.	Multi	235,3 %	-	1.
Viridian Group (shares delisted)	6.	Electric	202,8 %	-	2.
RWE AG	7.	Multi	201,4 %	5.	-
Suez SA	8.	Multi	198,2 %	6.	-
Scottish & Southern Energy PLC	9.	Electric	189,8 %	7.	-
Endesa SA	10.	Electric	186,1 %	8.	-

Source: Edison Electric Institute

We are proud to be the first European utility to receive this Award. This Award will motivate us to continue growing and improving our performance. We will certainly continue our foreign expansion in the target area of Central and Southeastern Europe. Several transactions and significant investments are in preparation. We understand that the most valuable growth is the one that does not require new capital. We are therefore strengthening our trading capabilities to extract maximum value from our current assets and exploit trading opportunities throughout the region. We are also very focused on cutting costs and making our operations lean, commented on Alan Svoboda, CEZ Executive Director responsible for Sales, Trading and Business Development.

The EEI International Utility Award is based on peer group analysis that values total return among 35 European electric utilities over a three-year period. While 2007 is the inaugural year of the award, the U.S. EEI Index Award has been awarded since 1998 and receives a great deal of attention from financial investors and journalists.

Organized in 1933, Edison Electric Institute (EEI) is the association of United States shareholder-owned electric companies, international affiliates, and industry associates worldwide.

EEI U.S. members serve 97 percent of the ultimate customers in the shareholder owned segment of the industry, and 71 percent of all electric utility ultimate customers in the nation. They generate almost 60 percent of the electricity produced by U.S. electric generators.

EEI works closely with all of its members, representing their interests and advocating equitable policies in legislative and regulatory arenas. In its leadership role, EEI provides advocacy, authoritative analysis, and critical industry data to its members, Congress, government agencies, the financial community and other opinion-leader audiences. EEI provides forums for member company representatives to discuss issues and strategies to advance the industry and to ensure a competitive position in a changing marketplace. More information is available on www.eei.org

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

6. 3. 2007