ECONOMIES OF SCALE

[BIZ/GOV: Maastricht, June 2]
The public interest is best served by the power company Essent if the commercial part of the company joins with a strategic, possibly foreign, partner. Only with economies of scale can the company provide sustainable energy to the citizen at a favorable price in the long term. This was decided by the Limburg provincial government as the major shareholder in Essent and has been presented to the provincial assembly as their point of view.

The law now requires the power industry to separate the network company and commercial energy production and supply. Against a background of development on the international energy market, a commercial company like Essent has increasingly more to do with the competition, and this makes the economies of scale important. For this reason Limburg feels that it is in the interest of the production and distribution activities of Essent that they be given, at a time to be decided, the opportunity to link up with a strategic partner. Only then can the competitive position and continuity of the company and the supply and cost of the energy for the populace be guaranteed. The province is the major stakeholder, with 16.1% and the strategy will be discussed on June 28, and at the end of June the shareholders will make the desired proposal.
http://www.limburg.nl/