Swiss energy company MET Group has opened a subsidiary in the Czech Republic and thus started to operate on the Czech market. The group is active mainly in the natural gas market, where it has secured LNG capacities. It also trades in electricity.
Original article in Czech: České noviny
In the first phase, the Czech company plans to focus on services for large consumers, i.e. energy-intensive companies and industrial plants, and later it will also offer supplies to smaller customers and households, statedMET Group representatives at a press conference.
MET Group is headquartered in Switzerland and is owned by the company's management. After entering the country, it operates in 17 countries through subsidiaries and in 30 national gas markets. The group's management plans to expand into even more countries in the coming months and years. It employs over 1,000 people. In 2023, MET Group recorded consolidated revenues of €24.5 billion (CZK 618 billion) and traded 88 billion cubic meters of gas and 68 terawatt hours of electricity.
MET's subsidiary in the Czech Republic has obtained the necessary licenses for electricity and gas trading. Representatives of the company announced that they are ready to negotiate with potential customers.
The company said it recently won long-term LNG supply contracts from the United States and has additional sources from suppliers in Africa and Asia.
"We are entering the Czech market as a full partner. Our goal is to bring security of supply and stability first and foremost and to support the country in its energy transition. Being part of an integrated energy company like MET Group makes us a reliable partner for our customers," said Pavel Balada, CEO of MET Czech Republic.
MET first wants to focus on large industrial customers. According to Balada, this is a segment where there is room on the Czech market after the energy crisis, when several suppliers went out of business. In the next few years, Balada said, the company plans to offer services to smaller customers and households. In the initial years, it will employ dozens of people in the Czech Republic.
In the future, MET also wants to be active in cogeneration or renewables. Balada also said that the group had already supplied regasified LNG to Czech customers in the past, but did not give a specific name of the customer.