Czech Industry Ministry proposes state cover extra renewable costs next year

The additional costs associated with purchasing electricity from renewable sources and certain heat and power plants should also be paid by the state next year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MPO). The MPO has submitted the proposal to the government, and the cabinet is expected to discuss it on 27 September. René Neděla, acting director of the energy section at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, confirmed this to Ekonomický deník today. According to an estimate by the Energy Regulatory Office (ERÚ), the total amounts to CZK 36 billion. The Finance Ministry disagrees with the proposal, meaning it is a draft with unresolved objections, the outlet noted.

Under the MPO proposal, as this year, households and companies would not pay the additional costs through electricity prices. The ministry has surprisingly abandoned its June plan, under which it proposed that the state cover half of the costs from the budget next year and consumers pay the other half through electricity prices. The Finance Ministry also challenged that proposal, arguing that it was too costly for the heavily deficit-ridden state budget.

The government must approve the amount of money earmarked to finance supported energy sources by 30 September so that the ERÚ can subsequently set the levy customers will pay the following year, the outlet writes. If the government approves the Industry Ministry's proposal unchanged, customers will pay nothing extra. The „anti-crisis“ arrangement introduced in October 2022, under which the state covers the costs in full from the budget, will therefore remain in place.

However, Finance Minister Zbyněk Stanjura (ODS) wants to reduce the volume of support for renewable energy sources next year. At the end of August, he said on Czech Television's Otázky Václava Moravce programme that the system from previous years, under which payments were split between the state and consumers, should return next year. He added at the time that it was not yet clear what form the system would take.