Czech energy regulator consults on financial rules for energy companies

The Energy Regulatory Office (ERÚ) has launched a public consultation on the methodology it will use to set basic energy pricing rules for the period from 2026 to 2030. The methodology will mainly govern the financial rules for operators of electricity and gas transmission systems, distribution systems, the market operator, the Electricity Data Centre, mandatory purchasers and suppliers of last resort. ERÚ announced this today in a press release.

According to the office, the new rules will be adapted in particular to the needs of the domestic energy sector’s transformation. „The shift towards renewable energy sources and the decentralisation of the energy sector are creating new investment requirements for energy systems. By law, system operators must ensure the reliability and security of energy supplies, and the office must provide them with the necessary conditions. Expected investment will amount to tens of billions of korunas each year in the coming years,“ said Stanislav Trávníček, chairman of the ERÚ Council.

He noted that electricity grid capacity will need to be increased in the future to connect new sources, and grid flexibility strengthened so the networks can cope with increasingly large fluctuations in energy generation. Cybersecurity will also need to be strengthened. In the gas sector, changes will be necessary because of the transition to low-emission gases and shifts in gas flows.

„We are proposing a new incentive-based element in price regulation, under which regulated companies will have to meet a number of specific targets. These include, for example, additional investment in more efficient system operations, investment to reduce technical losses, and the expansion of digitalisation and automation,“ Trávníček noted.

The consultation process began on Saturday, and the office will accept comments until 20 November. A public hearing on the submitted comments will then be held within a month. The office says the final version of the methodology will be published by the end of February 2025.