Severní energetická gives Most region towns 100 million crowns

The company Severní energetická has transferred 50 million crowns each to Vysoká Pec and Vrskmaň. It is part of the money saved on the reclamation of the ČSA mine near the city of Most. In total, the company is directing 213 million crowns to the region as gifts.

Brown coal mining at the ČSA mine ended in 2024. Instead of technical reclamation, the Ministry of the Environment approved natural reclamation: part of the area will be left to grow over and part will be flooded. This saved the Sev.en group money. According to the mining authority, which last September approved the release of part of the reserve already set aside, a billion crowns less will now be needed to deal with the aftermath of mining.

Who has already received money

Luboš Pavlas, a manager at Sev.en Česká energie, explained that the savings amount to 470 million crowns: the state will receive tax and the land on which a national natural monument has been declared. The remaining roughly 213 million is a gift to the region.

Vysoká Pec will put its 50 million toward building a primary school, and Vrskmaň toward a building with apartments and a social service for seniors. According to spokeswoman Mariková, both municipalities have already received the money. This week the gift will be sent to the city of Most, which wants to spend 50 million on building a university campus in the centre. Next week the money will go to the Union of Municipalities of the Ore Mountains, which will use it to create an electronic information and warning system for the network of mountain roads. Another recipient of a gift worth tens of millions of crowns will be decided by the end of October.

The town of Horní Jiřetín, next to the mine, is not listed separately. Pavlas explained that the first choice was Most, Vrskmaň and Vysoká Pec, and the company then accommodated a request from Litvínov mayor Kamila Blažová (ANO) to direct a gift to Litvínov as well. The recipient thus became a union of eleven municipalities, including Horní Jiřetín and Litvínov.

Grant programme for organisations

The company will distribute the rest of the money among non-profit organisations and associations in the region under its announced grant programme. Almost seventy organisations have applied, and the deadline is the end of October. The order of submission does not matter. The rules exclude towns, political parties and individuals. A grant committee decides and may also approve exceptions. If there are more applications than can be satisfied, priority will go to those working near the mine.

The money is requested mainly by sports clubs, social and health service organisations and cultural associations, such as the Podkrušnohorské Technical Museum. Most applicants are organisations that run leisure activities for young people: athletes, volunteer firefighters and dog-handling clubs. “We will try to support most of the applicants,” the spokeswoman assured.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by ekolist.cz