CEPS signs EUR-189m loan for Czech power network upgrades

Czech transmission system operator CEPS AS has signed a CZK-5-billion (USD 230m/EUR 189m) loan to bolster the electricity transmission infrastructure in the Czech Republic, which in turn will facilitate the integration of renewables.

The state-owned company will get the loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB), with disbursements expected between 2021 and 2024. The lender says in a press statement that the network upgrade project will improve the system’s security and make it easier to exchange power from Germany to Austria through Poland and the Czech Republic.

The total cost of the project is estimated at CZK 11.3 billion.

Meanwhile, environmental group CEE Bankwatch Network says that the Czech Coal Commission is preparing to approve on Friday a late coal phaseout date for the country, with three options for exit years being considered at present -- 2033, 2038 and 2043. In any one of those cases, the country will miss becoming coal free by 2030, which it needs to do in order to be in line with the Paris Agreement.

“We know that the 2038 coal phaseout scenario is now a favourite choice for some members of the Commission and they are trying to sell this as a compromise. But you cannot make compromises with reality. It would be really bad to plan a coal phaseout which lasts 18 long years because the economic collapse of the coal industry will likely happen much sooner,” said Lukas Hrabek, press officer at Greenpeace Czech Republic.

(CZK 1.0 = USD 0.460/EUR 0.378)

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