ČEZ launches new tariff to let Czech customers with interval meters manage consumption

Energy company ČEZ will allow customers with interval meters to shift their consumption during the day and take advantage of hours when electricity is cheaper. It has launched a new so-called dynamic tariff for this purpose, it told CTK today. The company says it is the first tariff of its kind in the Czech Republic.

Tens of thousands of ČEZ customers have meters with interval measurement. They cost several thousand crowns to install. Distributors must install free meters that also include interval measurement for customers with annual electricity consumption above six megawatt-hours (MWh) by mid-2027. So-called smart meters are expected to be gradually rolled out to other customers as well.

Under the dynamic tariff, the day will be divided into four price bands, with electricity cheaper during the day or at night and more expensive in the morning and evening. A household with interval measurement will be able to shift its consumption to periods when it pays less than under its current tariff. Among other differences from standard spot tariffs, customers will be given price bands defined several months in advance.

According to Karel Hanzelka, a spokesperson for Pražská energetika (PRE), interval measurement is not yet widely used by ordinary households. “The most common customers are those generating electricity from solar panels; we have a special product for them that gives them a bonus for the electricity they generate but do not use,” Hanzelka told CTK. “It is possible that in the future we will also offer a product with variable price bands that are not linked to spot prices,” he added.

ČEZ tested the tariff in recent months. In some hours, customers could save up to 50 percent compared with the standard supply price, according to the company. However, households cannot shift all their consumption to cheaper hours, so the average saving during the test was around ten percent. According to the supplier, about 80 percent of customers saved hundreds to thousands of crowns a year.

“The changing energy sector is creating new opportunities for customers to save energy, and as the largest supplier, we want to be at the forefront. That is why we are the first in the market to offer customers who take an active interest in their consumption a product with a variable price, but without the risks associated with a conventional spot product,” said Tomáš Kadlec, CEO of ČEZ Prodej.

The tariff can be used with any standard fixed-price product or an open-ended contract. Customers will be able to try the tariff in a trial version before deciding whether to switch to the full version. During the trial, they will receive monthly information about their savings. After the 11-month trial period, customers who have saved money will be offered the dynamic tariff. If customers do not save during the trial and would instead pay more, they will pay only the price under their existing product, according to ČEZ.

E.ON also plans to offer customers the benefits of new energy technologies soon. “At E.ON, we are preparing a range of products that will allow our existing and new customers to take advantage of changes in the energy market and benefit from new technological opportunities. We will gradually add them to our offer,” E.ON spokesperson Roman Šperňák told CTK.