Czech utility ČEZ to cut electricity and gas prices for 1.7 million customers on open-ended contracts this summer

Energy company ČEZ will cut its electricity and gas prices. Starting this summer, it will lower energy prices for 1.7 million existing customers on open-ended contracts, first cutting gas prices by around 17 percent in June, followed by a nine percent cut in electricity prices in July. The company has also been cutting prices for fixed-price products since May. ČEZ Prodej informed the Czech News Agency (ČTK) of the news today. Other suppliers are also gradually cutting prices this year in response to falling wholesale energy prices.

From 1 June, the price of gas supply without a fixed term at ČEZ will fall to 1479 crowns per megawatt-hour (MWh), excluding VAT, for households. The company will then cut the price of electricity without a fixed term from the start of July to 3595 crowns per MWh, excluding VAT, under the most common D02 tariff.

„This step has been made possible by an adjustment to our purchasing strategy, which allows us to quickly pass on falling wholesale prices to our customers through lower price lists as early as mid-year,” said Tomáš Kadlec, CEO of ČEZ Prodej. He said the price change would be automatic, so customers would not have to do anything.

This is the third time this year that ČEZ has cut prices for its fixed-price products. From May, it will lower the price of electricity on two-year contracts to an average of 3124 Kč per MWh, excluding VAT, and the price of gas to an average of 1298 Kč per MWh, excluding VAT. Offers with three-year contracts will also become cheaper.

Other suppliers have also been gradually lowering their price lists since the start of this year. For example, from May, E.ON cut gas prices for about 150,000 customers by between 13 and 21 percent. The company has also lowered its fixed-price tariffs for new customers. innogy has also cut prices for fixed-price products by hundreds of crowns this year, and recently confirmed that it is planning further price changes. In April, epet also cut electricity and gas prices, while Pražská plynárenská reduced its gas price by 6.1 percent from March. At the end of April, Centropol also introduced a new product, offering new customers a fixed price for one month with a one-month notice period. Lama Energy, for example, also now offers a monthly tariff. Some suppliers are holding off on price cuts, partly because they bought energy in advance at higher prices.

The price cuts reflect the gradual decline in electricity and gas prices on the energy market, particularly at the start of this year. A megawatt-hour of electricity currently costs 87,72 euros (about 2203 Kč) on the exchange, around 40 percent less than a year ago. The price of gas has fallen even further, by approximately 50 percent, to 35,5 euros (over 892 Kč) per MWh. Although energy prices on the market began to gradually rise from March, they fell slightly again over the past week.