Cold April raised Czech electricity demand; solar output topped 600 GWh for third time

Czech solar power plants were again the third-largest source of electricity in April, after nuclear and lignite-fired power plants. According to data published on Energostat, they supplied 612 GWh of electricity to the grid, the third-highest monthly figure in history. These sources generated more electricity only in June and August last year. Strong solar generation in April led to frequent drops in day-ahead electricity prices into negative territory. On Sunday, 26 April, prices even approached the price floor of -500 EUR/MWh several times.

According to data published on the website of Czech market operator OTE, a.s., April, with an average temperature of 8.3 degrees Celsius, was 0.4 degrees Celsius below the long-term temperature norm. By comparison, the average temperature in April 2025 was more than 2 degrees Celsius higher. Cooler weather brought a year-on-year increase in electricity consumption in the Czech Republic of 4.3 % to 5.15 TWh. Compared with March, electricity consumption in April fell by almost 0.5 TWh.

Electricity generation in the Czech Republic reached 5.9 TWh in April, virtually the same figure as in April 2025. Compared with March, this represents a decline of 0.6 TWh.

Nuclear power plants were the main source of electricity in April, with generation exceeding 2.4 TWh. Lignite-fired power plants recorded a year-on-year generation decline of almost 5 % to 1.7 TWh. However, they remained by far the second-largest source of electricity in the Czech Republic, as third-placed solar power plants supplied 612 GWh of electricity to the grid despite a year-on-year generation increase of almost 14 %.

The largest year-on-year decline in generation in April was observed at natural gas-fired power plants. They supplied just under 275 GWh of electricity to the grid, 101 GWh (-27.0 %) less than in April 2025.

First-ever adjustment of the day-ahead market price floor

The average electricity price on the Czech day-ahead market was just under 82 EUR/MWh in April, around 2 EUR/MWh higher than in April 2025 and more than 28 EUR/MWh lower than in March this year. The electricity price did not exceed 300 EUR/MWh in any trading quarter-hour; conversely, on Sunday, 26 April, it approached the then-applicable lower price limit of -500 EUR/MWh in several quarter-hours.

Given that electricity prices again fell deep into negative territory on Friday, 1 May, the lower price limit will, for the first time, fall by 100 EUR/MWh to -600 EUR/MWh under revised European rules in force since 2023. It will be applied for the first time to trading on 28 May for electricity delivery the following day, 29 May.