PM says no guarantees on energy prices

Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said during question and answer time in the lower house on Friday that his cabinet would not offer guarantees on the purchase price of electricity generated at the Temelin nuclear power plant in connection with its planned expansion. Experts say that the $15 billion project would only be economically feasible if the government were to guarantee higher energy prices, thereby putting a financial burden on the state or directly on consumers. CEZ, the state-owned power utility which runs the plant, has been stalling on a final decision whether to go ahead with the massive construction project and has indicated it is not ready to commit without such guarantees.