Analyst: Energy prices under new Czech Statistical Office methodology better reflect reality

Energy prices calculated under the Czech Statistical Office’s (ČSÚ) new methodology better reflect reality, and it is likely that most European Union countries calculate prices this way. This is why prices in the Czech Republic were below the EU average last year under the new calculation. Jiří Gavor, an analyst at ENA and executive director of the Association of Independent Energy Suppliers (ANDE), told the Czech News Agency (ČTK) today. For the same reason—because ČSÚ had so far published offer prices rather than prices actually paid—the reported prices for the second half of 2022 rose much more sharply than in other EU countries, he added.

ČSÚ today published data under its new methodology, which uses prices actually paid rather than offer prices. For example, in the second half of last year, offer prices for electricity rose to 9412 crowns per megawatt-hour (MWh), while prices actually paid were 6488 crowns per MWh. Taking into account the energy-saving tariff, through which the government compensated households for high energy prices during the last three months of the year, the price actually paid was 4214 crowns per MWh, according to ČSÚ. For gas prices, offer prices in the second half of 2022 were 4662 crowns per MWh, while prices actually paid were 2610 crowns per MWh.

ČSÚ President Marek Rojíček said today that under the new methodology, electricity and gas prices in Czechia were below the EU average in the second half of last year, whereas under the original methodology, Czechia ranked among the most expensive countries. “ČSÚ has confirmed what was being discussed at the beginning of this year, when prices for the second half of 2022 were published,” Gavor noted.

Eurostat does not prescribe how individual countries should report their results, according to Gavor. “I believe that most countries reported average (actual) prices, which is also why the Czech Republic rose so sharply in the comparison for the second half of 2022,” he said. He pointed out that at the time, list prices for new customers were very high, while average prices—which still included cheaper contracts from previous years—were much lower.

Both methodologies are valid, according to Gavor, and when the market is stable, offer prices do not differ much from prices actually paid. “In short, when the market is stable, both methodologies produce the same result,” he said. Last year, however, the market was affected by uncertainty caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, to which the EU responded with sanctions that also affected energy commodity supplies.

ČSÚ President Marek Rojíček told journalists today that ČSÚ would continue to publish average offer prices for energy, but would designate prices actually paid as primary data going forward and provide these to Eurostat for international comparisons. According to Rojíček, the European statistical office wants EU member states to provide data that reflect actual payments for energy.