UPDATE 1-Czech CEZ takes firm to court over coal supplies

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PRAGUE, June 29 (Reuters) - Czech power utility CEZ has gone to court to try to force Czech Coal to guarantee long-term coal deliveries for a planned plant, state-owned CEZ said on Friday.

CEZ, which is central Europe's biggest company by market capitalisation, said Czech Coal had refused to follow up on a preliminary agreement from 2005 and sign a final deal on coal supplies until 2055 from its mining firm Mostecka Uhelna.

The duspute is undermining CEZ's plan to build a 1,300 MW power station in Pocerady in the northwest of the Czech Republic.

"Because Czech Coal group is refusing to meet its obligation CEZ is turning to a court to confirm the long-term purchase contract and allow the start of renovation of the power plant in Pocerady," CEZ said in a statement.

A Czech Coal spokesman said the company would refrain from commenting on the dispute with CEZ before Saturday's deadline for closing the long-term deal.

The new power plant would represent about 9 percent of CEZ's existing capacity, according to analysts.

"Chances that an agreement will be reached seem low at this moment and the situation is unclear, thus the stock might give back a bit of its recent gains," said Tibor Bokor, analyst at Wood & Company.

Shares in CEZ closed near three-week highs on Thursday and were up 0.3 percent at 1,090 crowns early on Friday, largely in line with a small gain in the blue-chip index .