Heat consumption in Czechia fell again last year due to warm weather

Heat consumption fell again last year, with district heating companies in Czechia reducing their deliveries by 2.6 percent year on year. The main reason was warm weather: last year's average temperature during the heating season was 7.21 degrees Celsius, almost two degrees higher than the long-term average. The Czech District Heating Association informed ČTK of this today.

„The climate in 2024 made heating two percent less demanding than in 2023, and heat deliveries from district heating companies fell by 2.6 percent year on year, according to preliminary data. Compared with the long-term average, heating demand last year was almost 12 percent lower,“ said the association's director, Jiří Vecka.

Last year was slightly warmer than 2023. The average temperature during the heating season, from January to May and from September to December, was 7.23 degrees, compared with 6.78 degrees the year before. The long-term average for 1991 to 2020 was almost two degrees lower. The number of so-called degree days, which indicate how demanding the climate is for heating, fell.

According to the association, most households with correctly set advance payments need not worry about having to pay extra. „On the contrary, when they receive their final bill for heat supplied in 2024 in May, they can expect a modest refund,“ Vecka noted.

This year, however, many households in Czechia connected to district heating are likely to pay more for heat. Coal-fired heating plants have raised prices by three to ten percent this year, increasing heating and water-heating costs by an average of several dozen crowns a month in most cases. Gas-fired plants, by contrast, have cut prices by up to a tenth. Even so, heat from coal will remain cheaper. Heating plants using biomass have raised prices significantly.

Coal-fired heating plants account for more than half of heat supplied to households and other customers, excluding industry. Gas accounts for around 25 percent of heat supplies, with biomass and other sources making up the rest.