Czech utility ČEZ now expects to operate coal-fired plants until 2030 and will adjust their operations

Energy company ČEZ currently expects to operate its coal-fired power plants until 2030. However, electricity generation from them will gradually decline. The company is also working to configure its power plants and mines so they operate mainly during the winter months, when they are needed. They will instead be shut down in summer. ČEZ Vice-Chairman Pavel Cyrani told reporters today. He warned that the situation surrounding coal-fired generation could change at any time.

Energy group Sev.en, owned by billionaire Pavel Tykač, plans to begin closing coal-fired power plants around the turn of this year and next. The group announced plans to shut down the Počerady and Chvaletice power plants, as well as the coal-fired section of the Kladno power plant and heating plant. The state-owned transmission system operator ČEPS subsequently recommended temporarily keeping two of the four units at the Chvaletice coal-fired power plant in operation to ensure reliable grid operations. The Energy Regulatory Office will decide on the conditions for the further operation of these units in the coming months.

ČEZ will therefore not join the closures of coal-fired facilities for now. The company stressed, however, that market conditions could change at any time, which could in turn affect its future plans.

According to Cyrani, the transition of coal-fired facilities to winter-only operation is being carried out gradually. "We used to use them for heat generation in summer too, but we now have new gas-fired facilities there. Coal-fired facilities are effectively shut down in summer, when electricity prices are at their lowest. This process will now gradually be extended to spring and autumn as well," Cyrani said. He noted that the process would also depend on the weather. Adjusting the operation of coal mines will be more complicated, Cyrani said.

The profitability of coal-fired generation is gradually declining, as ČEZ’s results last year also confirmed. Last year, operating profit from emission-intensive facilities amounted to 4.4 billion, down 9.4 billion crowns year on year. The company expects the downward trend to continue.