Czechs burned less coal, diesel and LPG last year, CSO data show

Hard coal consumption in Czechia fell by four percent year on year last year, coke consumption by 1.9 percent and lignite consumption by 3.2 percent. However, the decline in all three solid fuels slowed compared with previous years. Motor gasoline consumption, by contrast, rose, while consumption of diesel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) fell. The Czech Statistical Office (CSO) reported.

According to statisticians, the energy sector was the main contributor to the decline in hard coal consumption. It used almost 12 percent less coal, while use of this fuel in industry stagnated.

Motor gasoline consumption rose by 4.4 percent last year, with roughly two-thirds accounted for by the services sector. Diesel consumption was ten times higher than gasoline consumption, but total use fell by 1.9 percent.

Diesel consumption fell in almost all sectors and was flat only in transport, its main user. Total LPG consumption fell by nine percent, and by more than 20 percent in industry.

Natural gas consumption in 2025 fell by 1.4 percent year on year. In the energy sector, which accounts for around a quarter of natural gas consumption by entities with 20 or more employees, it fell by 11.5 percent.

More than half of natural gas consumption was accounted for by industry, where it rose by 2.9 percent last year. A significant increase of 14 percent was recorded in agriculture and forestry. Total electricity consumption rose by 0.6 percent. It increased by 2.9 percent in the services sector, while falling by one percent in industry.

According to Eurostat data, hard coal accounted for 3.7 percent of total gross electricity generation in the European Union last year, equivalent to 105.601 gigawatt-hours (GWh). Lignite accounted for 5.5 percent, or 154.186 GWh. For the Czech Republic, European statisticians report that coal accounted for 36 percent of electricity generation in 2024.

According to the latest data from the Energy Regulatory Office, Czechs consumed 38.6 petajoules of heat in the first half of this year, a 2.1 percent increase year on year. Growth was driven mainly by industry. Colder weather, particularly in January and April, also played a role.