ČEPS: Investment in Czech power grids to rise by at least CZK 10 billion a year in coming years

Investment in the Czech transmission and distribution grids will have to increase by at least ten billion crowns a year in the coming years, bringing the total to around 39 billion crowns annually. Martin Durčák, chairman of the ČEPS board, said this on Czech Television’s Otázky Václava Moravce programme. According to him and other experts, Czechia is several years behind in developing some parts of its energy sector and must therefore speed up.

According to the head of ČEPS, funding will be needed in particular to build so-called smart technologies into Czech grids. ČEPS has already modernised a large part of its system, he said; distribution grids are now next in line, and will need more technology. Durčák added that the investment estimate may not be final. The additional ten billion crowns a year is based only on assumptions that ČEPS and distribution companies can estimate at present.

According to Durčák, an amendment to the Energy Act, which adjusts the conditions for electricity storage and aggregation, should also help strengthen Czech grids. “The more storage, the better for grid management,“ he noted. According to the head of ČEPS, Czechia is several years behind in this area.

The development of Czech grids will also affect energy prices for consumers. Pavel Cyrani, vice-chairman of the board of ČEZ, said the country must speed up the modernisation of its energy sector to ensure competitive prices in the future. Given the current delays, he warned, electricity in the Czech Republic could otherwise be up to a quarter more expensive in 2030 than in neighbouring Germany.

According to Cyrani, Czechia must resolve its key priorities as quickly as possible: financing nuclear units, the pace of coal plant closures and their replacement with gas-fired plants, and its role in international energy policy, including securing imports of energy commodities from neighbouring countries on competitive terms.