Talks continue on power station privatization

TALLINN (BNS) - The Estonian government and the U.S. company NRG Energy consider it realistic to conclude talks on the privatization of Estonia's two largest power stations by the end of this year.

A joint negotiating group of the Estonian government and NRG Energy decided at its plenary meeting July 8 that under the present timetable it was possible to finish the talks by Dec. 31, said an Economics Ministry spokesperson.

The session also set out the agenda for further talks, a move required because of changes to the framework agreement signed at the end of last year. The previous agreement did not include the oil shale mining company Eesti Polevkivi as an object of the negotiations.

Under the previous agreement, NRG as the potential strategic investor would have acquired a 49 percent holding in Narva Elektrijaamad power station, whereas the state-owned Eesti Energia would have kept a stake of 51 percent.

The government has meanwhile ruled that Narva Elektrijaamad would also get a 51 percent stake in the oil shale mining company, with the government retaining 49 percent.

It is now necessary to establish a price for Eesti Polevkivi. The assessment of the price is being conducted jointly by the company's council and the auditing company KPMG.