ENERGY: ENEL'S INTERNATIONAL SPRINT TOWARDS POLAND

he Italian energy company Enel has presented a binding offer for a stake in the Polish energy producer Dolna Odra, which operates three coal plants in the country. After selling off its telecom company, Wind, to the Egyptian company Weather, and being obliged by EU regulation to open up to competition on its local market, thereby renouncing some of its Italian assets, Enel is actively investing abroad in Eastern Europe and Russia. The company is now present in Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

There are six companies participating in the bid for Dolna Odra: Electrabel from Belgium, Cez from Czechoslovakia, German firm Pcc, Endesa and Iberdrola from Spain, and Enel.

A shortlist of the companies admitted in the bid should be announced in September by the economy ministry, with the final outcome decided by the end of 2005.

Poland has already privatised two energy companies, which were sold off to Edf and Electrabel.

In Western Europe, Enel also operates in Spain, through a joint partnership with Viesgo and Enel (Union Fenosa) and France, where it has recently signed an agreement with Edf, focusing on a nuclear programme with EPR new generation reactors.

In 2005, thanks to its internationalisation efforts, Enel plans to reach a production capacity abroad of 16,500 Megawatts (Mw), far superior from the 15,000 Mw it has lost in Italy through the liberalisation process. Slovakia, where ENEL is still finalising the deal with the government, would account for 7,000 Mw; Poland for 2,400 Mw and France for 3,000 Mw. In Italy, Enel produces 42,000 Mw.

In 1987, the Italian public voted against the nuclear industry in a referendum. Now Enel, in which the Italian government owns more than 25 percent - via a 20 percent direct stake, plus another 10 percent through a controlled company - has decided to re-enter the sector to diversify its energy risks and be less dependent on oil, on which some energy plants operate.

In terms of its nuclear programmes, Enel has reached two important goals with the recent deal in Slovakia - which still needs to be finalised - and in France - where Enel will participate in EDF's nuclear project.

(Source: AKI)

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