ČEZ set to exit JESS, Bratislava earmarks CZK 4.6 billion for buyout

Bratislava/Uhrovec (Slovakia), 30 September (ČTK correspondent) - The Slovak government has earmarked 189.4 million euros (CZK 4.6 billion) to buy the Czech group ČEZ’s minority stake in the semi-state-owned company Jadrová energetická spoločnosť Slovenska (JESS), which is preparing to build a new nuclear power plant in Slovakia. Prime Minister Robert Fico’s cabinet decided on this today at an off-site meeting.

State-controlled company JAVYS will take full control of JESS after buying its 49 percent stake, as it currently holds a 51 percent stake.

The price for settling ownership relations in JESS had previously sparked a dispute between Fico and the economy ministry. A new assessment has now confirmed the original valuation of the ČEZ Group’s stake in JESS.

Slovakia and ČEZ established JESS in 2009, during Fico’s first government. Fico’s current cabinet had already decided that the new power plant would be state-owned, and that the state would therefore buy ČEZ’s stake in JESS. Following a dispute over the transaction price, Fico’s cabinet transferred responsibility for preparing the construction of the new nuclear power plant from the economy ministry to the government’s commissioner for nuclear energy development and the Government Office.

According to earlier reports, the US company Westinghouse is expected to become Bratislava’s main partner in building the new nuclear power source for state ownership.

For construction of the new power plant, with a capacity of around 1200 megawatts, the state plans to use existing infrastructure at Jaslovské Bohunice, where Slovakia shut down two units at the older V1 nuclear power plant in 2006 and 2008 to meet its commitments to the EU. The country’s largest electricity producer, Slovenské elektrárne (SE), part of the Energetický a průmyslový holding (EPH) group, also operates its own nuclear power plant at the site.