Czechs consumed the least electricity in 14 years last year, down 4.1% year on year

Czechs consumed the least electricity in the past 14 years last year. Net consumption amounted to 57.8 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity, down 4.1 percent year on year. All categories of consumers cut their consumption. Electricity generation also fell, by ten percent year on year. This is according to statistics from the Energy Regulatory Office (ERÚ). In addition to electricity, preliminary data show that consumption of gas and heat also fell last year. Experts say the main reasons for the energy savings were the gradual rise in energy prices and warm weather.

„Electricity consumption fell significantly as early as 2022, with households even recording a record decline. The trend towards saving energy continued last year, however, throughout the year and across all categories of consumers. In addition to the measures taken, warmer weather also affected consumption, as the average temperature was higher than in 2022 and stood 1.4 degrees above the long-term temperature norm,“ said Stanislav Trávníček, chairman of the ERÚ Council.

The decline in net consumption—which is adjusted for electricity used in generation, grid losses and pumped storage—was evident in every month of last year. The largest year-on-year fall, 7.2 percent, was recorded in January. All categories of consumers reduced their total annual net consumption: large consumers connected to the high-voltage grid by 4.1 percent, households by four percent, businesses by 3.1 percent and large consumers connected to the very-high-voltage grid by 1.4 percent.

Electricity generation in Czechia fell even more sharply last year. It amounted to 71 TWh, 9.9 percent less than a year earlier. Despite this, Czechia remained a net exporter of electricity, according to the office’s data. The cross-border balance—the difference between exports and imports—stood at 9.2 TWh. The export surplus is gradually declining, however: in 2022, it was 13.5 TWh, representing a fall of almost a third.

According to the ERÚ, last year’s decline in electricity generation was mainly due to an 18.4 percent drop in output from steam power plants, which nevertheless remained the most-used source. Generation also fell at combined-cycle gas plants (by 17.7 percent), gas and combustion power plants (by 5.4 percent) and nuclear power plants (by two percent). By contrast, hydropower plants (up 12 percent), wind farms (up 9.5 percent) and pumped-storage plants (up 7.5 percent) produced more electricity.