The “coal villain” of the European Union? Path dependence,
profiteering and the role of the Energetický a průmyslový
holding (EPH) company in the energy transition

J 2021

The “coal villain” of the European Union? Path dependence, profiteering and the role of the Energetický a průmyslový holding (EPH) company in the energy transition

ČERNOCH, Filip, Jan OSIČKA and Sebastián MARIŇÁK

Basic information

Original name

The “coal villain” of the European Union? Path dependence, profiteering and the role of the Energetický a průmyslový holding (EPH) company in the energy transition

Authors

ČERNOCH, Filip (203 Czech Republic, guarantor, belonging to the institution), Jan OSIČKA (203 Czech Republic, belonging to the institution) and Sebastián MARIŇÁK (703 Slovakia, belonging to the institution)

Edition

Energy Research & Social Science, Amsterdam, Elsevier, 2021, 2214-6296

Other information

Language

English

Type of outcome

Článek v odborném periodiku

Field of Study

50601 Political science

Country of publisher

Netherlands

Confidentiality degree

není předmětem státního či obchodního tajemství

References:

URL

Impact factor

Impact factor: 8.514

RIV identification code

RIV/00216224:14230/21:00122105

Organization unit

Faculty of Social Studies

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2021.102066

UT WoS

000656405400002

Keywords in English

Stranded assets; Rent-seeking; EPH; Capacity remuneration mechanism; Utilities; Niche actors

Abstract

V originále

Parallel to the ongoing energy transition, Energetický a průmyslový holding (EPH) has emerged as one of the leading energy companies in the EU. Since its expansion started in 2009, the company has acquired assets worth EUR 16.7 billion while entering eight European markets, establishing itself as a crucial EU natural gas stakeholder and essential coal mining company in Germany and Poland, collecting around 26 GW of installed electricity generation capacity, and becoming the second largest polluter in the EU ETS. Unlike other rising stars of the shifting socio-technical regime such as Orsted or Tesla, EPH swims against the current. Depending on the perspective, it acts like either a scavenger, buying out “dirty” coal assets from energy incumbents, or a profiteer, taking advantage of the recently introduced capacity mechanisms which give an afterlife to such assets, thereby extracting rents from transition policies. EPH thus simultaneously contributes to the transition and compromises the goal of decarbonization. This paper offers a detailed analysis of EPH’s investment strategy. The resulting image is one of a company with Europe-wide aspirations but the structure and behaviour of a garage start-up—an image that does not fit the traditional perception of transition as a conflict between status quo and niche actors over the fate of the regime. EPH is interested not in the end-state of the regime change but in the change itself. We conclude by discussing what the emergence of such an actor could mean for current European energy transition policies.

Links

MUNI/A/1044/2019, interní kód MU

Name: Perspektivy evropské integrace v kontextu globální politiky II

Investor: Masaryk University, Category A

Files attached

The_coal_villain_of_the_European_Union.pdf

Request the author's version of the file

Citovat

ČERNOCH, Filip, Jan OSIČKA and Sebastián MARIŇÁK. The “coal villain” of the European Union? Path dependence, profiteering and the role of the Energetický a průmyslový holding (EPH) company in the energy transition. Energy Research & Social Science. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2021, vol. 76, July, p. 1-10. ISSN 2214-6296. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2021.102066.

@article{1786658,
   author = {Černoch, Filip and Osička, Jan and Mariňák, Sebastián},
   article_location = {Amsterdam},
   article_number = {July},
   doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2021.102066},
   keywords = {Stranded assets; Rent-seeking; EPH; Capacity remuneration mechanism; Utilities; Niche actors},
   language = {eng},
   issn = {2214-6296},
   journal = {Energy Research & Social Science},
   title = {The “coal villain” of the European Union? Path dependence, profiteering and the role of the Energetický a průmyslový holding (EPH) company in the energy transition},
   url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629621001596?via%3Dihub},
   volume = {76},
   year = {2021}
}

TY  - JOUR
ID  - 1786658
AU  - Černoch, Filip - Osička, Jan - Mariňák, Sebastián
PY  - 2021
TI  - The “coal villain” of the European Union? Path dependence, profiteering and the role of the Energetický a průmyslový holding (EPH) company in the energy transition
JF  - Energy Research & Social Science
VL  - 76
IS  - July
SP  - 1-10
EP  - 1-10
PB  - Elsevier
SN  - 22146296
KW  - Stranded assets
KW  - Rent-seeking
KW  - EPH
KW  - Capacity remuneration mechanism
KW  - Utilities
KW  - Niche actors
UR  - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629621001596?via%3Dihub
N2  - Parallel to the ongoing energy transition, Energetický a průmyslový holding (EPH) has emerged as one of the leading energy companies in the EU. Since its expansion started in 2009, the company has acquired assets worth EUR 16.7 billion while entering eight European markets, establishing itself as a crucial EU natural gas stakeholder and essential coal mining company in Germany and Poland, collecting around 26 GW of installed electricity generation capacity, and becoming the second largest polluter in the EU ETS. Unlike other rising stars of the shifting socio-technical regime such as Orsted or Tesla, EPH swims against the current. Depending on the perspective, it acts like either a scavenger, buying out “dirty” coal assets from energy incumbents, or a profiteer, taking advantage of the recently introduced capacity mechanisms which give an afterlife to such assets, thereby extracting rents from transition policies. EPH thus simultaneously contributes to the transition and compromises the goal of decarbonization. This paper offers a detailed analysis of EPH’s investment strategy. The resulting image is one of a company with Europe-wide aspirations but the structure and behaviour of a garage start-up—an image that does not fit the traditional perception of transition as a conflict between status quo and niche actors over the fate of the regime. EPH is interested not in the end-state of the regime change but in the change itself. We conclude by discussing what the emergence of such an actor could mean for current European energy transition policies.
ER  -

ČERNOCH, Filip, Jan OSIČKA and Sebastián MARIŇÁK. The “coal villain” of the European Union? Path dependence, profiteering and the role of the Energetický a průmyslový holding (EPH) company in the energy transition. \textit{Energy Research \&{} Social Science}. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2021, vol.~76, July, p.~1-10. ISSN~2214-6296. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2021.102066.

Detailed Information on Publication Record