Analysis: Czechs overpay billions of crowns a year for energy due to old contracts

Czechs overpay billions of crowns a year for electricity. This affects mainly consumers with old open-ended contracts with their suppliers. More than half of consumers in Czechia have such contracts. They often fail to respond adequately to changes in market prices. This is according to an analysis by bezDodavatele.

According to the analysis, price differences between some suppliers’ rates and actual market prices can be significant. For example, in June the average market tariff differed from the standard open-ended rate by more than 350 crowns per megawatt-hour (MWh), according to bezDodavatele data. Households with average annual consumption of three MWh could therefore save up to 6000 crowns a year.

"More than half of Czech households still have old, original open-ended contracts with very disadvantageous rates. Yet customers switch to more flexible and advantageous tariffs only exceptionally. As is often the case, there are several reasons: fear of change or the unknown, or simply not wanting to deal with it for the sake of a few crowns," said Libor Holub, CEO of bezDodavatele.

According to bezDodavatele data, consumers with average consumption could have saved almost 23 billion crowns between January 2023 and July 2025 by using so-called flexible tariffs, which are transparently linked to current market trends. The saving for an individual household over this period comes to more than 11.000 crowns.

Energy prices on commodity markets have been relatively calm in recent weeks. In July, electricity prices for delivery next year ranged between 93 and 98 euros (2325 - 2450 crowns) per MWh, while natural gas prices ranged between 35 and 38 euros (875 - 950 crowns) per MWh, according to E.ON Energie data. "This is the calmest period since the beginning of the year, with markets stabilising at levels comparable to 2024," said Tomáš Plocek, head of energy procurement at E.ON Energie. He noted that energy prices fell even further in April after the US announced tariff measures, but the market is now stable, he said. The key factors are the weather and geopolitical developments around the world.