The wholesale gas price for the European market is below 100 euros per MWh, which fell for the first time since June on Monday.
On Tuesday, gas for delivery in November was offered at the virtual trading hub TTF for less than 98 euros (2,400 kroner). But gas, which is now more than twice as expensive as it was a year ago, will become more expensive again.
“The falling price is due to a combination of warm weather and storage tanks in Europe being quite full. But prices for the next few days, in particular, are low. For the next quarter or next year, prices are still around 140 euros,” Roman Gazdík, a spokesman for ČEZ, said.
“There is probably no room for further price cuts,” said energy analyst Jiří Gavor. According to him, besides the weather, the price is also influenced by the LNG fleet waiting to unload its cargo in Europe.
Changes in prices on the open market will, therefore, not affect Czech households too much. However, they will be helped from January by the price cap approved by the government for retail consumers of CZK 3 per kilowatt hour (kWh).
“ČEZ Prodej customers are already paying a higher price for gas than the capped price for an open-ended product, so that the government cap will be a significant help for customers,” Gazdík told Právo.