CZECH REPUBLIC The General Assembly of the Czech energy utility CEZ has rejected draft rules obliging it to cooperate with the international commission of independent experts appointed in July 1998 to analyse the economic impact of the Temelin nuclear power plant. Under the rules, CEZ was to provide the commission with commercial information. Industry and Trade Ministry official Jaroslav Martinek said that the decision on cooperation with the commission was completely up to the CEZ board, which was recently replaced.
The replacement of the CEZ board was initiated by the state as the majority owner, because the former board included people linked to the previous right-wing government. The discontinuation of cooperation could mean a further delay in the work of the commission which was expected to submit the first results of its analysis at the end of January.
Even before this latest problem, Skoda Praha CEO Stanislav Svoboda had warned that the plant was unlikely to be fully operational by August 2000. However, he thought the first unit might be operational then. Despite these delays, Minister of Industry and Trade Miroslav Gregr remains a strong advocate of nuclear energy.
