Vlček expects Czech gas imports from the west to rise again after German fee is scrapped

Industry and Trade Minister Lukáš Vlček (STAN) believes domestic traders will buy more gas from the west after Germany scraps its gas transit fee. He said the German fees had been behind the increased supplies from Russia. Vlček made the comments today in response to a question from the Czech News Agency (ČTK). The Czech Republic has secured enough gas capacity to avoid dependence on supplies from Russia, he said. Those supplies have risen sharply in recent months.

The German Bundestag today approved an amendment to the law scrapping the controversial fee for transiting gas through Germany, which the Czech Republic had also been paying. Berlin promised neighbouring countries in May that it would abolish the fee. The gas transit fee was introduced in 2022. It currently stands at 2.5 euros per megawatt-hour.

„The Germans have delivered on what they promised us in talks. The fee for transporting gas through Germany was the reason private traders bought cheaper gas from the east. I believe that will now change. Thanks to the alternative supplies and capacity at LNG terminals that we have secured, there is no reason for us to depend on Russia,” Minister Vlček said today.

In recent months, the share of gas imported from the east, where most of the gas is Russian, has risen significantly in the Czech Republic. In November, for example, it reached as much as 95 percent. Analysts say the main reason was the lower market price of Russian gas, while transport fees in Germany make imports from the west more expensive. Across the whole of this year, the split between supplies was 55 percent from the west and 45 percent from the east.

Gas flowing through Germany to the Czech Republic comes mainly from Norway and from the Eemshaven terminal in the Netherlands. Energy company ČEZ has leased part of the floating LNG terminal there until 2027, giving it access to about three billion cubic metres of gas a year. In the two years since it began operating, the terminal has received 43 ships carrying gas destined for the Czech Republic, transporting 3.86 billion cubic metres of gas, mostly from overseas, according to ČEZ. ČEZ has also repeatedly stated that it does not draw any gas from Russia from the terminal.

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