After 18 months of conflict, CEZ and Albania reached a settlement, on 23 June: the Albanian state will pay CEZ €100 million to compensate for the January 2013 decision by its national regulator to revoke the license of the Czech public electricity company. The amount that Tirana has agreed to pay in annual instalments until 2018 corresponds to CEZ's 2009 investment to acquire a 76% share in the Albanian transmission company CEZ Shperndarje.
Several fund donors, including the World Bank,…
CEZ's misadventures in the Balkans
In January 2013, the Albanian energy authority revoked the Czech group's license, accusing it of mismanagement, unjustified price increases and insufficient investments in the local electricity grid. CEZ, which for its part complained about contentious relations with the Albanian authorities, launched an international arbitration procedure in May 2013. It accused Tirana of failing to protect its investment. The day after the agreement, on 24 June, CEZ Chairman Daniel Benes described the arrangement worked out with Albania as a success, saying the group will have access to the amount to be recovered much sooner, without being obliged to wait for the results of the arbitration procedure. The Czech electricity firm, 70% state-owned, could have a similar problem in Bulgaria, however, where the energy and water commission (DKEVR) is examining the possibility of revoking the licences of CEZ, Energo-Pro, and Austria's EVN. It accuses the three firms of setting excessively high prices for grid access.