All major energy suppliers have sufficient supplies, ERÚ finds

All major energy suppliers have purchased sufficient supplies for both large and small customers, meaning the stability of supply is not at risk. This follows from an extraordinary investigation conducted by the Energy Regulatory Office (ERÚ). According to the authority, the market is now more stable than at the start of the energy crisis in 2021, but it will continue to monitor further developments. ERÚ said so today in a press release.

"The aim of our extraordinary investigation was to verify the extent to which domestic suppliers are resilient to unexpected price developments on wholesale markets, so that the situation seen in the past is not repeated. The results are clear. All major suppliers, which together cover the overwhelming majority of the Czech market, have secured sufficient energy for all their customers. The stability of supply is therefore not currently at risk," said ERÚ chairman Jan Šefránek.

According to him, the Czech energy market is now more stable than in the past. "Of course, we can never rule out individual problems. However, the situation in which a number of traders sent their customers to suppliers of last resort should certainly not be repeated," Šefránek noted.

At the largest suppliers, expectations were confirmed that they purchase electricity and gas in advance not only for customers with fixed-price products, but also to a large extent for customers without fixed prices. "For gas, the higher hedging ratio is also due to the timing of the investigation, which coincides with the period when suppliers typically build up stocks for injection into gas storage facilities. Gas storage is precisely an area on which we, as the Czech Republic, need to focus more in the future so that it fulfils its role as an element strengthening energy security," Šefránek added.

Following the crisis of previous years, suppliers are now required under the Energy Act to publish the so-called hedging index twice a year, which ERÚ monitors regularly. The authority conducted the extraordinary inspections in addition to this obligation. While the hedging index required by law monitors only the security of supplies for households and small businesses, the extraordinary inspections also examined whether suppliers had secured energy for large customers.

ERÚ also indicated that it will continue to monitor developments on wholesale markets and, should price instability persist, will repeat the inspections this autumn as well.

Prices of European benchmark gas purchase contracts have risen by tens of percent since the start of the war in the Middle East. The conflict began on the last day of February with a US-Israeli attack on Iran. In recent weeks, some suppliers have already responded to the price increase by raising prices for their fixed-price products.