Power giant ČEZ signs multi-billion crown gas plant contract

Czech electricity giant ČEZ signed a 20 billion crown contract on Thursday to build its first major gas-fired power plant in the country. The power plant will have a capacity of 841 MW and should start supplying power from 2013. Construction will be supervised by ČEZ engineering daughter company, Škoda Praha Invest. ČEZ is switching power production out of polluting coal-fired plants. However, the move into gas-powered plants is controversial since the country’s biggest supplier of natural gas is Russia.