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24.06.2014 14:31
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Albania and Czech energy group CEZ announced in a joint statement on Tuesday that they have reached an agreement on the lengthy conflict over the revocation of CEZ’s electricity distribution license inAlbania. The settlement agreement is the result of lengthy negotiations with the intermediation of Mr. Dirk Buschle, Deputy Director of the Energy Community Secretariat in Vienna, Austria. The negotiations were held at the premises of the Energy Community Secretariat.
The settlement agreement resolves all claims between the CEZ Group on the one hand and the Republic of Albania on the other hand relating to CEZ’s investment in CEZ Shperndarje and the Albanian energy sector. Both parties pledge that the agreement contains no acknowledgement of any wrongdoing by any party.
The joint statement does not quote the particular parameters of the settlement.
International media however reported that CEZ would receive a total of EUR 100 m. Tirana would pay annual receivables and transfer CEZ Shperndarje worth a total of EUR 95.5 m by 2018, in addition to EUR 4.5 m the Czech company already received.
"I consider the negotiated agreement as a success because we will receive funds significantly earlier and we will not need to wait several years for the results of arbitration proceedings," CEZ Chief Executive Daniel Benes said, as quoted by Reuters.
Albania was keen to resolve the 18-month row so it could go ahead with a USD 200 million investment in its electricity sector, with the World Bank and other donors ready to back that with funding once the dispute was sorted. Earlier this month, the CTK news agency also reported, citing EU sources that the Czech Republic was prepared to block granting of EU candidate status to Albania because of the dispute.
The Balkan country stripped CEZ's local unit of its licence and put it under the control of an administrator in January 2013. The move followed a row between CEZ and Albanian state-owned energy company KESH over electricity prices. Due to draughts in 2012 heavily hydro-reliant KESH was forced to buy expensive electricity, increasing the price at which it sells electricity to CEZ with more than 40% in order to evade bankruptcy. Meanwhile state waterworks stopped paying their electricity bills which forced CEZ to seek their disconnection from the grid. Following arrests of CEZ employees, the company filed an arbitration case.
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