CEZ Group

Total year-on-year increase in wholesale prices is 16.87 %. Baseload price in the second auction is 19.5 % higher. Thanks to the offer of other products for pre-determined prices, the final average price increase is by 2.6 % lower, i.e. 16,87 %. The first auction of the CEZ's generation- the virtuall power plant - held in the beginning of August generated prices on the level of 17.1 % year-on-year increase.

After the first wholesale electricity offer for 2007 in the "Virtual Power Plant" auction, CEZ is now continuing to offer another electricity volume and other wholesale products. The price of the most important product band supplies for the next year will be determined by the traders themselves in the auction again. This auction is not imposed on CEZ by the UOHS (Office of Fair Trading), but it is a voluntary action of CEZ.

The CEZ Group reached the net profit of 16,433 million CZK for the first half of this year, which constitutes growth by almost 41 per cent as against last year. The increase results from the rise of trade margin, growth of the volume of sold and distributed electricity by almost one third, cost savings due to integration of CEZ Group and extension of the Group by the Romanian distribution firm Electrica Oltenia and recently by two Polish power plants (they affected the results only with one month). Also the first foreign acquisition of CEZ Group involving three Bulgarian distribution companies shows improved results. While revenues have grown, CEZ managed to keep the fixed costs under control.

The winning bids for single units are from 16.4 % to 18 % up on this year´s wholesale electricity price. The average electricity price from the "Virtual Power Plant" auction for 2007 increased by 17.1 % in comparison to this year´s price and by 18.5 % compared to the virtual power plant prices in the previous year. The annual band price for 2007 amounts to roughly 1,220 CZK/MWh.

The result of the auction "Virtual Power Plant" will be the concrete sign of the anticipated development of wholesale prices of electricity in 2007 and the base for the following auctions for 2007. The auction last year collected the total number of 44 bids, which represented a fivefold excess of demand over the offer. Domestic as well as foreign traders offered prices which represented a 15 % increase in wholesale electricity prices on the Czech market for this year.

Jan Demjanovic has become the new chairman of the board of directors and general manager of Severoceske doly (SD). He has been the sales manager and a member of the board of directors of SD for many years and has been working in the mining industry for more than 27 years. He has replaced Vratislav Vajnar, the general manager and chairman of the board up to now.

Vladimir Cerny, a leader of the successful teams for the acquisition of Polish power plants Elcho and Skawina, is heading for the post as director of CEZ Polska. The present director of CEZ Group in Poland, Kamil Cermak, is going to be appointed as executive director of CEZ Prodej (Sales) and director for company?s important clients as from 1 July.

RWE group´s members in the Czech Republic and members of CEZ Group are going to open common custom offices this yearCustomers in six cities will be able to settle all matters regarding natural gas and electricity supplies at one place Cooperation of RWE and CEZ Group for the benefit of their customers

CEZ Group has today officially opened its sales agency in Budapest to support its activities in Hungary. The Hungarian agency will expand CEZ Group´s trade network, which includes, together with the Czech Republic and Hungary, also Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania. In the near future, CEZ Group is going to open sales agencies in other countries in the region of South-Eastern Europe.

CEZ Power Company has today accomplished the acquisition of the two Polish power firms. CEZ will pay 180.8 m EUR, respectively 202.5 m EUR, for the majority shares of PSEG Global in the Polish power generation companies Elektrownia Skawina S.A. and Elektrocieplownia Elcho Sp. Z o. o.