Committee: Czech state may order energy companies to keep power plants running if necessary

The state will probably be able, if necessary, to order energy companies to operate power plants needed to ensure the security of electricity supplies. This could apply, for example, to coal-fired power plants if their premature shutdown threatened electricity supplies. This is provided for in an amendment to the Energy Act approved today by the Economic Committee of the Chamber of Deputies. The committee also adopted other changes to the bill, concerning, for example, support for biogas plants and the retention of five seats on the Board of the Energy Regulatory Office (ERÚ).

The amendment to the Energy Act, which would allow the ERÚ to intervene and ensure the operation of power plants needed for energy security, is based on a set of measures prepared in recent weeks by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MPO) in case of a rapid phase-out of coal-fired power plants in Czechia. In such a situation, the ERÚ could impose obligations on energy companies beyond the terms of their licences, and the companies would receive compensation in return. However, the state would be able to take this step only in extreme cases, when analyses by the transmission system operator indicated a possible disruption to electricity supplies. The Economic Committee today backed incorporating the measure into the law.

The committee considered 18 amendments today, approving 16 of them. These include retaining five seats on the ERÚ Board, which under the original proposal was to be reduced to just three members. Other approved amendments addressed, among other things, changes to price regulation, certification, customer status, support for existing biogas plants and the conditions for transferring a licence. An amendment proposing to abolish environmental impact assessments for pumped-storage hydropower plants, for example, was not approved.

The Energy Act amendment introduces rules for electricity storage and aggregation. According to the MPO, it should improve the management of power balance in the grid and, for example, allow consumers to adjust their consumption in response to current energy prices. The Czech legislation has so far lacked provisions governing these conditions, which has hindered development in this area. The amendment should also provide customers with an independent electricity price comparison tool.