In a recent announcement, the largest electricity supplier in the Czech Republic, ČEZ, revealed that electricity prices would decrease, potentially saving up to thousands of crowns annually for two million customers. However, despite this promising news, households will face additional charges for renewable energy support and distribution fees starting in January. As a result, most consumers will end up paying more for electricity, although there may be potential savings in gas prices.
According to Jiří Gavor, an analyst at ENA, “In terms of the impact on wallets, the overall balance will unfortunately be unfavorable for electricity consumers. Although the energy component will become cheaper, people must pay an additional six hundred crowns per megawatt-hour of consumed electricity for renewable energy support and even more for distribution fees.”
Consumers could pay at least 1300 CZK extra for each megawatt-hour consumed. With an average consumption of 3 MWh, households may end up paying around four thousand crowns more next year compared to the current rates.
Surprisingly, just last week, the Minister of Finance, Zbyněk Stanjura, stated on Czech Television that the average increase in electricity prices would be zero.
Tomáš Vrňák, an energy analyst at Ušetřeno.cz, believes that the government should communicate more openly regarding the expected increase in distribution fees and the reintroduction of renewable energy charges next year. Vrňák stated, “It is not true that the average increase will be zero, as Minister Stanjura claims. Compared to current products, the price of electricity could increase by up to fifteen percent.”
While the news might seem discouraging for electricity consumers, there is some good news for gas customers. Gas prices have decreased more significantly than electricity prices, and the regulated component for gas is not as substantial since it does not include renewable energy support. Although the regulated part will also increase, the drop in commodity prices will outweigh it, resulting in savings for gas customers.