The Czech utility CEZ's decisions regarding its troubled business in Albania will be known by the end of the year, the director of the Albania distribution company CEZ Shperndarje, Jaroslav Macek, was quoted by daily Hospodarske noviny as saying.

CEZ is involved in a long-running dispute with the Albanian state since the Czech energy giant took over the country's power distribution monopoly in 2009. The company complains that low tariffs, high unpaid bills, electricity theft and erratic taxation are making it impossible to trade profitably. Tirana says the poor performance is due to CEZ's mismangement.

Matters spiraled in November when CEZ disconnected electricity supplies to Albania's state-owned water utilities that owed it EUR38m in total for power supplies. But a court in Tirana ordered it to hook the utilities to the grid again. CEZ complied with the court's order to avoid fines, but said it will appeal against the court's order for the utility to halt power cuts to water companies and others who refuse to pay their debts.

Albanian authorities then officially announced to CEZ Shperndarje that they had started proceedings to withdraw its licence. If this happens, CEZ Shpendarje said it would try to protect its investment by means of an international arbitration and has asked for compensation from the guarantee that the World Bank provided to it when it purchased the power distribution assets in Albania, arguing that Albania broke the distributing rights of Albanian division CEZ Shperndarje,

Source: bne