Press releases pg. 18

The construction of the largest photovoltaic power plant in the centre of Prague has begun at the Prague Congress Centre (KCP). A total of 2080 solar panels will be erected on an area of 7000 square metres, saving the Prague Congress Centre CZK 5.5 million in electricity costs annually. Photovoltaic technology will complement one of the largest energy saving projects in the Czech Republic, which is being implemented at the KCP by ENESA, a subsidiary of ČEZ ESCO. The project has saved the centre CZK 32 million this year.

Yesterday, the ČEZ Energy Group became the 100% owner of ŠKODA JS, a traditional Czech company operating in the field of nuclear energy. With the purchase, ČEZ solved the problem of its major supplier, which several years ago became part of the Russian engineering group OMZ, controlled by Gazprombank. This put the company at risk of sanctions, which had a potential impact on securing key supplies for the ČEZ Group's nuclear power plants. The agreement was concluded in June this year with the shares temporarily held by WOOD & Company pending the antitrust authorities' transaction approval.

In the third quarter, the operating profit before depreciation (EBITDA) reached CZK 30.0 billion and the net profit was CZK 18.7 billion. For the first three quarters, EBITDA amounted to CZK 89.3 billion. The year-on-year increase of 88% reflects the enormous growth in commodity prices on the wholesale markets, the record profit from commodity trading on foreign markets, as well as the high operational reliability of power plants this year. Net income was CZK 52.3 bn ČEZ Group increases its full-year EBITDA outlook to the level of CZK 115 to 125 billion and net profit adjusted for extraordinary effects to the level of CZK 65 to 75 billion.

A power plant from ČEZ ESCO will cover 22% of the consumption of the Modletice warehouse near Prague, which supplies all of the company’s supermarkets in the Czech Republic. The facility, with a total capacity of 1 MWp, will produce 1084 MWh of clean electricity per year, saving 527 tons of CO2, an amount that would be captured by 60 hectares of forest in one year. The customised orientation of the panels on the roof ensures that the power plant’s production is spread relatively evenly throughout the day.