PRE supplied a record number of large customers with electricity last year

The results of the activity of the PRE Group were significantly affected by the gradual recovery of the performance of the Czech economy. The total supply of electricity to PRE customers compared with 2009 increased by 1.7 % and increased to 6,450 gigawatt hours. "We registered an increase in supplies to industrial customers by 2.8 % and can state that last year we broke the record in this customer group," informed PRE CEO Pavel Elis. 2010 was also marked by the improvement of the quality of services and new tariffs for households and small businesses. At the start of the year the Company offered Prague households an advantageous tariff called Komfort+ Garant 2010 which included a fixed price for active power for up to two years and zero monthly charges. Another new product was the Komfort+ Bonus 2010 list of charges and the Aktiv+ Pásma 2010 tariff for small businesses. In terms of the purchase of electricity the sources did not change substantially year-on-year. PRE continued to purchase electricity through the Prague Power Exchange PXE and from independent producers. The share of energy obtained from renewable sources was two percent. Last year there was a significant increase in the number of connected photovoltaic power plants. "Producers could make use of highly advantageous purchase prices for the last time. The overall interest in the purchase of green electricity for our customers was almost fifty-four percent greater than the previous year," commercial director Alexander Sloboda informed.

Last year the PRE Energy Advisory Centre continued to operate successfully in Jungmannova Street. It had an increased number of visitors again thanks to the attractive topics of specialised exhibitions, lectures and cultural activities. There was an evident boom in electromobility. Prague power company workers therefore launched the construction of the infrastructure and put into operation several charging stations for electrically driven cars, bikes and motorbikes. It is now possible to charge electric cars at the Chodov and Černý Most shopping centres, at the Company’s Energy Advisory Centre, in the Slovan garages and in the grounds of the Prague 5 city district authority. More will follow soon.

The PRE Group invested over 1,650 million crowns in the renovation and development of the networks last year. One of the main project is the almost complete renovation of the double outdoor line between the Chodov and Řeporyje substations of almost six kilometres in length. Two transformers at the substations in Měcholupy and Malešice were reconstructed. Power engineers managed to reduce the failure rate to a minimum by continuous and regular renovation of the grid. Last year there were no system faults or major breakdowns in electricity supplies. The subsidiary PREdistribuce, a.s. which is responsible for operation, development and renovation ensured the distribution of power for the fifth year now.

According to the statistics of the Energy Regulatory Office it was the most reliable electricity distributor in the Czech Republic.

Yesterday, apart from the results of the Company’s activity, the General Meeting also approved the exclusion of the Company’s shares from trading on the stock exchange. "The Capital City of Prague and EnBW AG currently own more than ninety-nine percent of the shares. The remaining amount of shares that can be freely traded on the market has been very small for several years now. Therefore shares are almost not traded. We offered shareholders an exclusion of the Company’s shares from trading on the regulated market and they approved this," explained Pavel Elis. The PRE shareholders also decided at the General Meeting that a dividend of 520 crowns per share before tax shall be paid out of the Company profit.