The Czech Republic has reported a significant decrease in electricity and gas consumption during the second quarter of 2022. According to reports, electricity consumption declined by 7.9% compared to last year’s period, while gas consumption dropped by 5.1%. These savings are primarily attributed to the massive development of solar panels and the implementation of energy-saving measures.
Despite a relatively cool spring compared to previous years, gas consumption declined by 5.1% year-on-year, according to Amper Meteo analyst Kamil Rajdl. The installation of solar panels on rooftops has also contributed to reducing electricity consumption, with systems with an installed capacity of around 560 MW connected in June alone.
“These systems can practically cover household consumption in combination with battery storage and also significantly reduce electricity consumption for companies that have installed them,” explained Martin Nádeníček from Amper Savings, an energy savings company.
Reducing electricity consumption has positively impacted the need to draw power from the grid. Gas savings have also been generated despite a relatively calm second quarter, with the temperature from April to June being one degree Celsius lower than the average temperature from 2018 to 2022.
A significant push for gas savings also marked the second quarter of this year, as Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Despite the excellent second quarter, households and companies could still generate savings, with year-on-year savings of 10.3% and 18.8% against the five-year average, after weather and the impact of the Počerady steam power plant were considered.
For the year’s first half, the Czech Republic produced 2,825 GWh of renewable energy, covering 8.3% of the country’s consumption. Almost half of the renewable energy produced came from solar power plants, with 43% generated by hydropower plants and the remaining 12% from wind power plants.
Amper Meteo bases its calculations and analyses on publicly available data. The company gets data on electricity consumption from ČEPS and gas data from NET4GAS. It also works with data from the Energy Regulatory Authority and ČEZ, although the ERU only has data available for the year’s first five months.
The decline in energy consumption in the Czech Republic is a positive step towards reducing carbon emissions and promoting using renewable energy sources.