Less nuclear, more coal and gas: Czech spot electricity prices surged in August

The average electricity price on the Czech day-ahead market rose to 138.21 EUR/MWh in August, its highest level this year. It was up by more than a quarter compared with July and by almost 80% year on year, although total domestic electricity consumption fell slightly year on year.

The main change in the August power generation mix was not further growth in photovoltaics, but a sharp drop in nuclear power plant output. Their lower availability was primarily replaced by lignite-fired and gas-fired generation, which was able to respond to exceptionally high spot prices.

Electricity generation fell, while its composition changed significantly

Total electricity generation in Czechia reached 5.49 TWh in August, down 206 GWh year on year. Compared with July, when generation exceeded 5.90 TWh, it fell by approximately 416 GWh.

The most significant change was seen at nuclear power plants, where generation fell year on year from 2.86 TWh to 2.13 TWh. The decline of more than 737 GWh represented almost 26% of last August's nuclear output and was 628 GWh lower than in July.