Kamil Čermák is the CEO of ČEZ ESCO, which brings together ČEZ Group companies from the modern green energy sector and has nearly 2,000 employees. He also serves as President of the Czech Institute of Directors (CIOD) and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Modern Energy Union. He received an award in the national Smart City Personality of the Year 2018 competition.
How do you evaluate your cooperation with the Union of Towns and Municipalities?
I evaluate the cooperation between ČEZ ESCO and the Union of Towns and Municipalities as beneficial for both parties. We regularly try to educate people about savings and financing necessary measures. The importance of our partnership was demonstrated last year when municipalities waited to purchase energy for this year. The government considered setting up a kind of state trader, but it did not happen. In cooperation with the Union of Towns and Municipalities of the Czech Republic, Mr Lukl, the chairman, and Ms Vladyková, the director, we helped the mayors. We prepared a methodology on how to purchase energy. Thanks to this, the whole situation was managed. The situation could have been much worse without the cooperation between the Union of Towns and Municipalities and us. Together with the Union of Towns and Municipalities of the Czech Republic, we also promote EPC energy projects or show the advantages of installing photovoltaics.
Can you describe what ČEZ ESCO does and what is its main task? What benefits does it have for cities, towns, villages or companies?
We help our customers save money. Money and the environment. This is a very brief summary of ČEZ ESCO’s main mission towards public institutions or companies. We have vast experience with a wide range of solutions in the field of modern energy that lead to reduced consumption and emissions. It goes hand in hand. Energy-saving solutions save money and reduce CO2 and pollutant emissions. Many companies are, by the way, even more ambitious in their approach to the environment than the EU itself, so our industry experience will help them achieve the environmental goals they have set themselves. There is also the benefit of strengthening energy security and reducing dependence on Russia and Russian gas.
What helps municipalities or businesses save money on energy bills? Can you name any specific measures that are popular with customers?
There is considerable interest in photovoltaic power plants, intensified by the energy crisis affecting the European Union last year that has not yet completely ended. Our customers realise that a PV plant will enable them to secure part of their consumption from their own source for decades. Thus they can protect themselves against price volatility. We are currently working on around 100 PV projects for large clients. These include large shopping centres, warehouses, halls, chains and convention centres. In addition, with ČEZ ESCO, any institution or company without equity can purchase photovoltaics thanks to our product Photovoltaics for CZK 1.
Photovoltaics for CZK 1? How does it work?
The clients do not have to put any of their capital into purchasing the solar power plant. They do not even have to worry about servicing. The client just needs to have a large enough area, and we will install the PV on it. The photovoltaic system is then repaid in the price of electricity. Customers typically pay an even lower price than if they took electricity from the grid. They do not pay for the grid charges. So it is a win-in situation for everyone. After paying off the photovoltaic system, the customer can buy the power plant for CZK 1, hence Photovoltaic for CZK 1. For example, the power plant will be paid off in 15 years, and the photovoltaic panels have a lifetime of at least thirty years, most likely longer.
Who is Photovoltaics for CZK 1 suitable for? How much will customers save?
At the moment, we usually offer the product to large customers. There are two reasons for this. It is relatively demanding to finance this product. We need a strong financial institution, and we cooperate on the Photovoltaics for CZK 1 with Komerční banka. So at the moment, the financing is available for bigger clients. And the second reason is also pragmatic. There is a massive demand for our services, so we now prefer larger projects to many small ones. Regarding savings: for example, the well-known photovoltaic system on the roof of the Prague Congress Centre (former Palace of Culture) has a capacity of 1 MW. It saves the customer about CZK 5.5 million a year.
What else do you offer to companies or public institutions? Where else can they save besides installing photovoltaics?
In cooperation with cities, towns, villages or companies, we often implement Energy Savings Certificates (EPC) projects. Each such project begins with an analysis of the current situation and the design of energy-saving measures — we proceed from the initial study through project documentation to implementation. During preparation, our specialists determine how much savings can be achieved through the measures we implement. The guaranteed savings, from which we also finance the implementation costs, is enshrined in the contract. All the financial and technical risks associated with the project thus remain with us as the contractor who guarantees the customer that the savings will work.
Can you give an example where you have already implemented energy savings through an EPC project?
Interesting EPC projects are running all over the country. Last year, these projects saved our customers an estimated CZK 300 million. These include projects in hospitals, schools, town halls, municipal swimming pools, treatment centres and theatres. Hospitals are a good example; they operate 24/7, and you can save a lot of money. Typically, hospitals where we have carried out an EPC project save over CZK 10 million a year. The biggest projects like the Czech Technical University in Prague or the Prague Congress Centre save over CZK 20 million a year.
In your opinion, what is the potential for savings in the Czech Republic using the EPC method?
The Czech Republic has great potential in this. There are tens of thousands of buildings in need of reconstruction and energysaving measures in the Czech Republic, yet nothing has been done about it for many years. The area of savings has been terribly neglected. Just like renewables, it needs a huge boost to get going. An estimated CZK 20 billion could be saved in public buildings.
There is also considerable potential for savings in the industry. For example, we have implemented savings in this sector at Military Repair Plants and Tatra Trucks.
Thank you for the interview.
