Fortum acquires two Polish power and heat companies
Fortum and the Polish Ministry of Treasury have today signed an agreement
according to which Fortum will acquire 85% of shares the Polish power and heat
companies Elektrocieplownia Zabrze S.A. and Zespol Elektrocieplowni Bytom S.A..
for approximately EUR 20.6 million (PLN 82 million). The companies are sold as
part of the privatization of the power and heat sector in Poland.
EC Zabrze and ZEC Bytom are among the main producers of heat for local
municipalities in the Silesia region of southern Poland. Total combined heat
sales of the companies is 930 gigawatt-hours annually (GWh/a) and electricity
sales 260 GWh/a. Production is mainly coal-fired. EC Zabrze's sales in 2009
totalled EUR 20 million and ZEC Bytom's EUR 19 million. Both operated at
breakeven. The companies employ 268 and 245 people respectively.
The acquisition significantly increases Fortum's power production capacity in
Poland. Moreover, Fortum will gain the access to the second largest heat
market in Poland with 2.3 million citizens living in 21 municipalities in the
region.
"We are very pleased to finalize this transaction. Our plan is to now focus on
increasing the efficiency of heat and power production of the existing assets.
We are also investigating the possibility to build new, efficient capacity that
will help to decrease the CO2-emissions and other environmental impact of the
production and increase the security of energy supply in the region”, says
Executive Vice President Per Langer, Fortum.
Fortum expanded its heat business to Poland in 2003 and has acquired several
district heating companies there in recent years. Fortum currently has district
heating operations in over 40 municipalities in Poland. The biggest networks are
in the cities of Wroclaw, Częstochowa and Plock. In 2009, Fortum's heat sales in
Poland were 3.7 terawatt-hours.
Fortum Corporation
Corporate Communications
Further information:
Mikael Lemström, Vice President, Fortum Heat Division, Poland,
Tel. +48 60 490 0499
Izabela Van den Bossche, Head of Communications, Fortum Heat Division, Poland,
Tel. +48692209428