Press releases pg. 1

Ústí nad Labem Region - The largest local investor will invest CZK 100 bn in the transformation and development of the energy sector in the region by 2030. It will build new heat and electricity sources and contribute to the development of education and the preservation of jobs. Further investments will follow until 2040.
* The ČEZ Group is the most important investor in the Ústí nad Labem Region and generates 7 percent of its GDP. Now ČEZ wants to increase its investments in the region.
* ČEZ wants to invest CZK 100 bn in the region by 2030, which is roughly equivalent to two to three times the region’s annual budget.
* Investments will be made mainly in the construction of new heating and power plants and the provision of long-term heat supplies to existing customers in Ústí, Chomutov, Teplice, Klášterec nad Ohří, Jirkov, Bílina and other towns, the construction of gas-fired power plants and renewable sources, and other development projects such as lithium processing.
* New low- and zero-emission energy sources will replace outdated coal in electricity and heat for decades to come and will contribute to the greening of the region.
* The investment will provide jobs for workers in the coal industry, and ČEZ will also intensify cooperation with schools and in science and research.
* ČEZ plans to bring further investments to the region by 2040, as a part of the development of other sources of electricity and heat, e.g. a small modular reactor in Tušimice.
* One of the investments is the acquisition of a 100% stake in ACTHERM Distribuce, which provides heat distribution from the Prunéřov II power plant in Chomutov.

* The Hodonín power plant stabilises year-round supply of electricity and heat
* This will be enabled by a new water-cooling method, using air in ventilator towers
* The currently employed flow-through cooling, using water from the river, had limited capacity, particularly in summer
* Biomass burning, which commenced in 2009, is now the main fuel
* The cross-border supply of heat to Holíč, Slovakia is unique European terms

After several months of testing, the brand-new cooling system at the Hodonín power plant has been transitioned into a one-year trial run. The advanced Israeli cooling-tower technology will cut cooling-water consumption by 97%, from 59 million cubic metres to less than 2 million per year. The ventilator cooling tower is broken up into 4 cells, each up to only 12.5 metres high, so that the facility does not disrupt the skyline. The Hodonín power plant is a low-emission ČEZ source that started to burn biomass in 2009.

The shuttle service providing a connection between the Budějovická (C) metro station and Brumlovka is 100% electric. Two SOR electric buses have been in operation since February 2016, and a third electric bus started operation in September of this year. The reliable emission-free vehicles have travelled more than 300,000 km in over 7 years, which is equivalent to circumnavigating the world eight times. These are the first free electric buses that have been put into normal operation in Prague’s public transport. Passengers appreciate their quiet and smooth ride and the possibility of connecting to Wi-Fi for free.

The new photovoltaic power plant on the roof of the Prague Congress Centre has begun supplying electricity. With its 2 080 solar panels, this emissions-free electricity source will cover 10% of the annual consumption of the Prague Congress Centre and thus provide estimated annual energy savings of CZK 5.5 million. The plant, as large as a football pitch, is a complement to one of the largest energy-saving projects in the Czech Republic implemented at PCC by ENESA from ČEZ ESCO.