Brussels, 11/07/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 10 July 2012, the European Commission invited comments from interested parties on commitments offered by the Czech electricity incumbent CEZ to address concerns that it may have infringed EU antitrust rules by hindering the entry of competitors onto the Czech electricity markets, in particular through excessive capacity reservations. To alleviate these concerns, CEZ offered to divest coal-fired generation capacity in the Czech Republic.
The Commission is examining whether CEZ has abused its dominant position on the Czech market for the generation and wholesale supply of electricity, in breach of Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). In particular, the Commission has concerns that CEZ may have pre-emptively reserved capacity in the transmission network, with a view to preventing the market entry of potential competitors. Following in-depth discussions, CEZ has proposed commitments to address the Commission's concerns. CEZ offered to divest one of the following generation assets in the Czech Republic: Pocerady, Chvaletice, Detmarovice or Melnik III together with Tisova.
If the market test, which will be complete within a month, indicates that the commitments are satisfactory, then the Commission may make them legally binding on CEZ. (OL/transl.fl)