CEZ sells two coal-fired power plants in Poland

CEZ announced the sale of its Polish coal assets, as part of the CEZ Group’s decarbonization efforts set out in its Vision 2030. The transaction still requires approval from the Polish antitrust authority.

The hard-coal-fired power plants Skawina (installed capacity of 330 MWe / 588 MWt) and Chorzów (238 MWe / 500 MWt) are among the largest sources of heat in Poland. Skawina is the second-largest supplier of heat to Kraków and the city of Skawina, while Chorzów is a major heat supplier to Katowice and other Silesian urban areas. Both plants partially use biomass and together generated 1 390 GWh of electricity and 5 649 TJ of heat last year.

Coal remains the mainstay of electricity generation in Poland, particularly hard coal. Even as the share of renewables grows, coal is therefore expected to play an important role in the coming years, at least until nuclear power plants are built to replace it.

In March this year, CEZ announced that it might sell selected Polish assets. The power plants were ultimately sold to RESInvest, which is speculated to be backed by former senior EPH executive Tomáš Novotný.

The transaction also includes CEZ Produkty Energetyczne Polska and CEZ Polska. CEZ Produkty Energetyczne Polska provides specialized support services for managing by-products generated by burning coal and biomass, while CEZ Polska is the holding company for CEZ Chorzów and CEZ Skawina. The holding company also monitors energy regulations and legislation and handles communications, PR and public affairs.