Despite protests, Dalkia snaps up ZEC for zł.900 million

The agreement with the French investor was initialed eight months ago, but the Ministry feared protests from local government officials in ŁódŸ and Sejm deputies from the region who tried to block the sale and demanded that the company be spilt in to production and distribution units. They wanted the distribution division to be taken over by the city council and submitted two draft bills with their proposals to Parliament. "It’s a scandal," commented Elżbieta Więcławska-Sauk, a deputy from Law and Justice (PiS). "It’s a serious mistake," added Zbigniew Chlebowski from the Civic Platform (PO) who added, "I support the privatization of such companies, but due to the local nature of their business, the privatization decisions should be made at the local government level." The Treasury Ministry assures that it was the right decision and that, "Contract provisions were specified in such a way so as not to exert a significant price pressure in future tariffs." Dalkia promised to invest zł.272 million in ZEC within four years. (Puls Biznesu, pp. 1, 9) E.B.