Shareholders of the state-controlled Czech power utility, CEZ, have replaced the board of directors and the supervisory board as part of a government move to completely restructure the company. Officials in Prague say the shake-up was motivated largely by the government’s desire to increase control over management at CEZ, in particular with regard to completion of the delayed Temelin nuclear power station. A new board of directors has now been elected directly by the shareholders – this was formerly done by the supervisory board. A CEZ spokesman said that the former general manager and chairman of the board, Petr Karas, would remain as chairman, although he has been replaced as general manager by Jan Vakik, also a board member. The size of the supervisory board has been halved, to six. CEZ said recently that completion of Temelin remains one of its priorities, but the government is reportedly dissatisfied with progress.
Besides the Temelin issue, the government also wants to ensure that plans to liberalise the market by opening up the system to other producers goes smoothly.
