Court decision orders Czech coal to supply coal to EOP throughout 2013
27. 11. 2012
The Regional Court in Ústí nad Labem delivered an interim injunction today, ordering Czech Coal to supply brown coal to Elektrárny Opatovice (EOP) to the full extent under the contract in place throughout 2013.
“The court’s decision is good news primarily for all our customers, as it means that reliable and secure heat supply has been ensured for them for next year,” said Jan Špringl, Chief Executive Officer and Member of the Board of Directors of EP ENERGY. “We believe that this is yet another confirmation that Czech Coal’s interruption of coal supply was illegal. We expect Czech Coal to abide by the court’s decision and to continue supplying the coal,” he added.
EOP considers Czech Coal’s rescission of the contract to be illegal and the reasons cited by that company to be misleading, irrelevant and unacceptable. EOP is firmly convinced that regular court proceedings on the issue of contract rescission will also show that Czech Coal was not in a position to take such a radical step. In accordance with an interim injunction delivered in June this year, Elektrárny Opatovice brought a legal action before the Regional Court in Ústí nad Labem for performance under the coal supply contract and for compensation of the loss sustained.
ELEKTRÁRNY OPATOVICE is part of the EP ENERGY group. With its available electrical capacity of 363 MWe and a total thermal capacity of 932 MWt, it is one of the leading energy suppliers in the Czech Republic. EOP supplies thermal energy for more than 60,000 homes in the Hradec Králové – Pardubice – Chrudim region and also for several hundred customers operating industrial, administration, commercial, sports, health, and cultural facilities. In 2012, EOP also supplies heat to customers at one of the lowest prices in the Czech Republic, which is approximately one-quarter lower than the national average price of heat produced from brown coal.