EEX bourse data to include Czech power plants

FRANKFURT Dec 20 (Reuters) - German energy bourse EEX said on Tuesday it planned to include Czech power station data in the aggregated transparency figures it issues on the Internet.

As Czech utility CEZ joins the ranks of many other big utilities in the region, the move will help support cross-border trading, which the EU wants to see in its drive towards a single market, the exchange said.

"The necessary preparations have started to allow the first publication of data early in 2012," the bourse said in a press release.

CEZ intends to show available capacity, actual production of the previous day and outage news. This sort of data helps power traders gauge supply and demand fundamentals to help them decide their strategy in the wholesale market.

"Both companies (EEX and CEZ) expect to cover some 60 percent of total installed power station capacity in the Czech balancing zone," the bourse said.

The EEX wants more countries to join its transparency platform, which draws on 40 reporting companies and is supported by Germany's four and Austria's one high-voltage power grid firms, German energy lobby groups and the federal energy regulator in Bonn. < ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^

EEX data details: www.transparency.eex.com/ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Vera Eckert, editing by Jane Baird)