Renewable electricity generation in Czechia exceeded 10 TWh for the first time last year, total generation fell slightly

Electricity generation in the Czech Republic fell by 1.1% last year, while electricity consumption was flat year on year. Generation at combined-cycle gas plants rose the most, by 1.8 TWh. Renewable generation exceeded 10 TWh for the first time thanks to higher output from hydro and wind power plants.

According to data from the Energy Regulatory Office, electricity generation last year followed general trends abroad. Generation from lignite and hard coal declined, while output from renewable and combined-cycle gas sources increased.

Among so-called conventional power generation, electricity generation from hard coal saw the largest decline. It fell by a total of 0.9 TWh, or 27%. The Dětmarovice power plant, the largest hard-coal plant, accounted for a substantial part of this decline, with its generation falling by around 65% (approximately 0.75 TWh).

Electricity generation from lignite also declined, by 2.6 TWh. One reason for the decrease is undoubtedly the higher costs of lignite-fired generation, which may therefore not always be competitive in the market.

While ČEZ stated in September 2017 that lignite generation costs were around 14 EUR/MWh, it now puts the figure at around 27 EUR/MWh. The increase is mainly due to the price of emission allowances (note: at coal-fired power plants, a 1 EUR increase in the allowance price raises variable costs by roughly 1 EUR/MWh).

In total, coal-fired sources generated 3.5 TWh less, representing a year-on-year decline of around 8.5%.

By contrast, generation from renewable sources rose by 6.6% (although in absolute terms this amounts to only 0.6 TWh). Output from photovoltaic and biogas plants declined slightly, but the lower generation was more than offset by hydro and wind power plants and biomass-fired power plants.

Electricity consumption, by contrast, remained at virtually the same level as last year. Around 74 TWh was therefore consumed in the Czech Republic again.

The Czech Republic also remains an electricity-exporting country. However, net exports were 0.8 TWh lower than last year, with the Czech Republic exporting 13.1 TWh of electricity.