Post by radovic on Nov 27, 2007 10:37:07 GMT -5
FYROM Wants Power Company Back
26 11 2007 Skopje _ The Austrian power company, EVN, that bought FYROM electricity utility, ESM, last year, has said it has no plans to sell its acquisition, after the government offered to buy it back.
“ESM is not for sale”, was the only comment that the spokesman of EVN-ESM, Lence Karpuzovska, had to say to Balkan Insight on Monday, regarding last week’s controversial government proposal to repurchase the company that deals with distributing electricity through the national grid.
On Friday government spokesman Ivica Bocevski told media that the government would be interested in buying ESM, if the Austrians decided to sell it.
He explained that if that were to happen, the administration would not resell the company.
The government proposal has come at a time of tension between the FYROM authorities and EVN over a new energy law that envisages energy market liberalization starting from 2008.
According to the draft law, EVN will have to cover part of the expenses incurred due to loss of energy in the system, by buying electricity on the open market, paying prices that are much higher than the prearranged tariff the company now pays to the state-owned power plants.
According to Bocevski, the government’s idea of a buy-back would not contravene its energy policy that promotes foreign investments in this sector. He said it would not discourage future investors, as it was legitimate for a state, after selling, “to change its mind, and ask to buy back a company”.
Earlier this month, the government accused EVN of failing to invest the agreed €40 million in infrastructure in 2007, saying that if the company had carried out the investment as foreseen in the contract, it would have significantly cut electricity losses due to obsolete equipment.
EVN disagreed saying that the majority of their loss was from theft, as whole areas in FYROM traditionally refuse to pay for their electricity, and chase away EVN’s workers when they attempt to cut off the power supply.
EVN also said the new law could raise prices next year.
After previously splitting the former state owned Electricity Company into three separate companies for power generation, power transfer-distribution, and distribution-sale to consumers, the former government led by the Social Democrats, sold the second of these, the national electricity grid, to the Austrians in October 2006 for €225 million.
The party that leads the current center-right government, VMRO-DPMNE, then in opposition, denounced the way the privatization of ESM was being carried out.
FYROM and Austria signed a foreign investment protection agreement in 2006.
26 11 2007 Skopje _ The Austrian power company, EVN, that bought FYROM electricity utility, ESM, last year, has said it has no plans to sell its acquisition, after the government offered to buy it back.
“ESM is not for sale”, was the only comment that the spokesman of EVN-ESM, Lence Karpuzovska, had to say to Balkan Insight on Monday, regarding last week’s controversial government proposal to repurchase the company that deals with distributing electricity through the national grid.
On Friday government spokesman Ivica Bocevski told media that the government would be interested in buying ESM, if the Austrians decided to sell it.
He explained that if that were to happen, the administration would not resell the company.
The government proposal has come at a time of tension between the FYROM authorities and EVN over a new energy law that envisages energy market liberalization starting from 2008.
According to the draft law, EVN will have to cover part of the expenses incurred due to loss of energy in the system, by buying electricity on the open market, paying prices that are much higher than the prearranged tariff the company now pays to the state-owned power plants.
According to Bocevski, the government’s idea of a buy-back would not contravene its energy policy that promotes foreign investments in this sector. He said it would not discourage future investors, as it was legitimate for a state, after selling, “to change its mind, and ask to buy back a company”.
Earlier this month, the government accused EVN of failing to invest the agreed €40 million in infrastructure in 2007, saying that if the company had carried out the investment as foreseen in the contract, it would have significantly cut electricity losses due to obsolete equipment.
EVN disagreed saying that the majority of their loss was from theft, as whole areas in FYROM traditionally refuse to pay for their electricity, and chase away EVN’s workers when they attempt to cut off the power supply.
EVN also said the new law could raise prices next year.
After previously splitting the former state owned Electricity Company into three separate companies for power generation, power transfer-distribution, and distribution-sale to consumers, the former government led by the Social Democrats, sold the second of these, the national electricity grid, to the Austrians in October 2006 for €225 million.
The party that leads the current center-right government, VMRO-DPMNE, then in opposition, denounced the way the privatization of ESM was being carried out.
FYROM and Austria signed a foreign investment protection agreement in 2006.