The abbreviation ORGREZ stands for Organization for the Rationalization of Energy Plants. As the name suggests, since its inception, the company has strived to increase efficiency, reduce losses, maximize energy production, and ensure efficient energy transmission with the highest possible efficiency within the power grid. In other words, to ensure that the grid operates at the highest standards.
What was its structure so that it was always available when needed, so to speak?
From the very beginning, the company's development has been closely linked to the development of the country's energy sector. When the distribution and transmission systems were being built, ORGREZ focused on assisting in their construction. When new units were connected, it focused on their commissioning and their operation within the entire system. When units such as Temelín or Dukovany were connected, ORGREZ was there again. In this way, the structure of the company and its divisions gradually changed so that it was, as you say, always at hand.
If you had to name some significant solutions that she was involved in, what would they be?
The goal has always been to streamline and gradually improve energy efficiency, so the company was not in a position to come up with some super revolutionary invention. The result of our daily work is rather thousands of small measures that ultimately bring about a daily increase in efficiency, proposals on how to optimally operate resources and connect them to the transmission and distribution system with the greatest possible efficiency. And the greatest efficiency, which many people do not realize, means the lowest emissions and the least impact on the environment.
From today's perspective, two areas are particularly interesting. The first is efficiency in all stages of energy production and distribution, i.e., electricity and heat. This has been a major topic in the energy sector practically since its inception. What did ORGREZ achieve during the period of centrally planned economy?
I would disagree somewhat; these areas were already interesting in the past. Issues such as economy, efficiency, and the economics of electricity supply and production have been present throughout the entire history of the electricity grid. Few people realize that we have moved from power plants with an efficiency of just over 20% to power plants with an efficiency of up to 40% and, in the case of cogeneration plants, up to around 70-80%. I believe that the Czech energy sector has nothing to be ashamed of. We have one of the best-managed energy sectors not only in Europe, but also on a global scale.
Within the framework of this centrally managed economy, it was necessary to create certain standards and technical principles for the operation of the distribution and transmission systems, and I believe that ORGREZ played a role in this, both in terms of consulting and standard-setting. These standards are still in use today and remain valid. They reflect the laws of physics, which do not change.
Since the early 1970s, the company has focused on protecting the air and the environment in general. A number of materials from that period show that it was the energy sector that advocated for their activities to cause as little damage to the environment as possible within the given possibilities. Can you elaborate on that?
Energy companies were not interested in operating power plants without regard for the environment. As early as the 1970s and 1980s, they tried to minimize their environmental impact with the technical and financial resources available to them. The efficiency of the equipment was increased and dust emissions were reduced. Of course, the desulfurization of power plants in the foothills of the Ore Mountains did not come until the 1990s, with large investments. However, the effort to operate as efficiently as possible with the lowest possible emissions has been here from the beginning.
In the year ORGREZ was founded, Electricity Act No. 79/1957 Coll. on "the production, consumption, and distribution of electricity" was passed, which, together with the implementing regulations adopted in the following years, remained in force without change until 1992. Its introductory provision emphasizes the need to develop the energy base in the electricity sector in advance of the development of other sectors of the national economy. However, the reality was different. For what reasons?
I have a slightly different opinion. Personally, I think that the development of the energy base in the electricity sector was quite successful. The robustness of the transmission and distribution systems, the way resources were developed, the development of industry, which was able to build resources and export them to the world, was successful. We were and still are quite successful exporters of energy resources. Our predecessors left us with good starting conditions and, as I said, we certainly have nothing to be ashamed of within Europe or the world.
The year 1989 arrived, the company's activities expanded, and the volume of work grew, particularly in the field of ecology. On May 1, 1992, ORGREZ became an independent joint-stock company and was included in the first wave of coupon privatization. Thus began the journey to its current form. What does the ORGREZ Group represent today?
Yes, 1989 did not only mean a return to democracy, but also a return to an energy-efficient Europe. Our system began to prepare for connection to trade with the whole of Europe. And large investments in the greening of production sources also began to flow. Its first wave took place in the 1990s with desulfurization and dedusting, with an investment value comparable to that of two units of the Temelín Nuclear Power Plant. And ORGREZ naturally played a significant role in this greening, whether it was assessing individual investment projects or putting them into operation, especially in the area of emission and pollution measurement. The company continues to do so to this day.
The energy sector is changing before our very eyes, so to speak, but the laws of physics remain the same. Unfortunately, many people see it in simplistic terms. So what is the energy sector like today and what are its specific characteristics?
If we look at what is happening in the energy sector right now, I would sum it up in three letters: decarbonization, decentralization, and digitalization. In terms of decarbonization, we don't want to burden the environment as much as we have in the past, for example, by having the same impact on the climate as we have had until now. I must say that we now have the technical capabilities to do so. We are continuously striving to increase the efficiency of sources that emit carbon dioxide, switch to low-emission fuels such as biomass and gas, and, of course, we are involving nuclear power plants much more.
Furthermore, it is about using technical possibilities for decentralized production. We are talking about small heating sources, small gas sources, whether they are cogeneration or small gas turbines. But we are also talking about zero-emission sources such as solar, wind, or small hydroelectric power plants. That is decentralization.
In terms of digitalization, the aim is not only for these small decentralized sources to produce energy efficiently and economically, but also for us to be able to create so-called virtual power plants from them and enable them to contribute to the supply of the large electricity grid and participate equally in the energy trade.
So wind turbines and solar panels are not enough today or in the future?
On the question of what the mix of sources will be and what the system of the future will look like, I once said that anyone who throws around percentages like 15, 20, 30% renewable sources versus the rest has a crystal ball. You can't say that. The electricity system, from primary energy sources to the end consumer, has always developed in such a way as to seek the optimum in terms of efficiency and stability. And I don't know what that optimum is at the moment. I don't know how much we can supply from photovoltaics, how much we need to have installed for it to be economically optimal. I don't know how much distributed sources will play a role, how much the large energy sector will play a role. It will stabilize at some optimum in terms of economic efficiency and in terms of stability and security of supply. Certainly, distributed energy sources will have a fairly large share. It is impossible to say how much, what the system can technically handle. However, larger power plants will always have their place, maintaining the stability of the system.
"We are leaders in energy care," I read on your website. How does this manifest itself in practice? Can you give us some examples of interesting solutions?
In classic, traditional energy, some sources are reaching the end of their technical life, and we are helping customers to operate their power plants at minimal cost and in compliance with all legal standards for decommissioning. Of course, we are also involved in the construction of new sources, such as gas and new distributed energy sources. These must be integrated into the system not only technically but also commercially, and ORGREZ provides such solutions.
Until recently, the group consisted of three companies: ORGREZ, EVECO Brno, and ORGREZ ECO. Now a fourth company, ORGREZ TRADE, has been added, which will connect online operation planning with the trading of modern energy sources. What were the main reasons for its establishment?
Modern energy brings a number of opportunities, but also challenges. Energy prices fluctuate every hour, resource portfolios are becoming more complex, and traditional management methods are no longer working. It is not just a matter of telling customers what resources to purchase. It is necessary to advise them on how to plan their own consumption, how to plan production in their plant or heating plant, and how to connect this to the electricity and gas markets. This is why the new companies ORGREZ TRADE, ORGREZ DATA, and ORGREZ ECO were established. We enable even smaller customers such as municipalities, cities, heating plants, or industrial operations to participate in the energy market and the entire electricity system, not only in the most technically efficient way, but above all commercially.
The new company comprehensively manages and optimizes the operation plan for cogeneration units, electric boilers, heat pumps, storage, and other sources based on forecasts of commodity prices and demand, including immediate responses to developments and trading in gas and electricity, according to a press release issued in connection with the launch of ORGREZ TRADE. Who is your offer primarily intended for?
Our offer is intended for small, medium-sized, and large enterprises. Simply put, it is for customers who do not want to wait for the next energy price fluctuation, who want to keep their production costs under control, and who want data-backed certainty that they are producing when it is economically advantageous from a market development perspective. Our customers want to be active in the energy market, they want to take advantage of its movements, and not just be in the position of a buyer. With our service, which combines professional trading, asset management, and smart online operations planning into a functional whole, they have that opportunity.
With the change in the structure of the energy sector, there is a need for data-driven decision-making. "Modern sources place higher demands on operational planning, but also offer greater opportunities for savings and profits. It's about using market dynamics to your advantage, planning and managing the system intelligently, with a connection to the market," you said recently. Can you elaborate on that?
What is happening on the energy market is precisely that the market is becoming digitized, which means that we are moving from annual, quarterly, monthly, weekly, and daily contracts to 15-minute contracts. This is an opportunity, but also a certain burden for those who want to get involved. If you have the opportunity to plan your own consumption, it can be very advantageous for you to participate in the market. However, if you are an engineering or any other manufacturing company, an industrial enterprise, or a heating plant, it does not make sense to build your own trader who will deal with the electricity market 24 hours a day, make predictions, and create your own software. That is why we are here to provide everything in the form of a service. We are not trying to become a pure energy trader dealing with buying and selling. Our primary goal is to get to know the customer, plan their consumption and production together with them, connect them with the market, make the most of internal resources, and, depending on specific needs, focus either on stable long-term energy prices or minimal emissions. If I had to compare it, we are more like a master tailor than ready-made clothing from TESCO.
A company that does not develop is doomed to extinction, as a classic once wrote. Based on your previous answers, this is certainly not a threat to ORGREZ. What do you consider to be the main challenges in the energy sector in the second quarter of the 21st century?
The main challenge I see in building an energy economy is maintaining the trend of reducing environmental pollution, whether we are talking about sulfur and dust or CO2 and mercury. However, this cannot be predetermined by political decisions where we do not allow technologies to compete naturally, but subsidize whatever we can because that is what we are capable of right now, even though it does not make sense from an energy or, above all, an economic point of view. It is necessary to respect the laws of physics, reduce the environmental burden at a reasonable cost, and gain public support for this. In other words, we must not throw the baby out with the bathwater, which is what is currently happening in the Czech Republic. We must preserve the reason why we are building all this in the first place, namely a stable supply of sufficient energy to support, rather than restrict, industrial development. That is the main challenge, the constant search for a new balance.
Fortune favors the prepared, and that was true then and is true today. So how are you preparing for the challenges you mentioned?
ORGREZ wants to participate in what I have been talking about so far. We are working to ensure that we have the structure and personnel in place so that in 2057, the 100th anniversary of its founding, ORGREZ will still be here and still be an organization that has something to offer modern energy.
What do you personally consider to be the main achievement of the company under your leadership?
It is precisely the building of a team of managers and experts who are ready for the new energy sector with decentralized sources and its gradual development. The transition from centralized energy management to market-based energy, distributed energy, and the integration of many sources requires new knowledge, approaches, experience, and new people. I believe that we have succeeded in building a team of people who have something to say about this, and we are well on our way to ensuring that ORGREZ will continue to be part of the energy sector and its services for another 70 years.
Published on January 12, 2026, in Czech Industry magazine.
Author: PhDr. František Petružálek