Rome, 27th April 2026 – ReCommon today launches the report “The Czech billionaire and Fiume Santo – EPH’s (and Snam’s) interests in the gas business, from the Czech Republic to Sardinia” (pdf download, ITA). The report is released at the start of the Action Days against EPH, a series of international mobilisation days organised by the Stop EPH network from 27th to 29th April, with coordinated actions across several European countries to expose the multinational’s role in the expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure, including in Sardinia, where it operates through its subsidiary EP Produzione.
Daniel Křetínský is little known in Italy, but his company, EPH, is among the largest emitters of greenhouse gases in Europe – in 2022 it was even third, with 69 million tonnes of CO2. EPH is the fifth-largest electricity producer in Italy, with an installed capacity of around 4.6 GW and an annual output of approximately 13 TWh.
The report reveals Křetínský’s diverse interests, ranging from the energy sector to publishing companies, but above all how coal-fired power stations, gas-fired plants and biomass projects are mired in controversy and fuelled by substantial public funding.
The Fiume Santo power station, near Porto Torres in northern Sardinia, is still coal-fired and located within a SIN (Site of National Interest) area, which has a significant impact on the environment and public health. Although the national phase-out of coal was scheduled for the end of 2025 (but has now been postponed to 2038), the plant will continue to operate and burn coal to generate electricity at least until 2028, when it is planned to be converted into a gas plant.
‘The Fiume Santo power station is emblematic of Křetínský’s business strategies: buying struggling companies at low prices, holding onto them for years without breaking them up but without even bothering to revive them, exploiting public funds wherever possible. All to perpetuate an increasingly failed model, yet one that governments continue to subsidise. Just consider the €1.75 billion received by EPH from the German government as compensation for the gradual closure of coal-fired power stations in Germany, where in 2023 the mines owned by EPH extracted over 50 million tonnes of coal,” said Paola Matova of ReCommon, author of the report.
“It is worth noting that the switch from coal to gas is also a crucial step for Snam, which is in fact making the second phase of Sardinia’s conversion to natural gas – including the deployment of a regasification vessel at Porto Torres – contingent on whether or not the Fiume Santo plant is converted. Without this conversion, the entire investment would risk to be pointless” added Matova.
Also as part of the Action Days against EHP, a sit-in and a press conference will be held on 28th April from 9.00 am, near the Fiume Santo power station. On 29th April at 6.30 pm in Sassari, at the Arci hall in Piazza Castello 11, floor A, a meeting and debate will take place, attended by ReCommon representative Paola Matova.
