Record in community energy: Czechs shared 11,4 GWh of electricity in March

Czechs shared a total of 11,4 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity among themselves this March, the highest amount yet in a single calendar month. This represents a fourfold increase compared with March last year. In addition to the growing number of connected sites, a higher number of sunny days also contributed. Nearly 41.000 interested parties have so far registered for electricity sharing in Czechia. The Electricity Data Centre (EDC) informed ČTK of this today. Total net electricity consumption in Czechia amounted to 5,4 terawatt-hours (TWh) in March.

The volume of electricity shared in March this year was therefore higher than even in the summer months last year. It exceeded the figures from the previously record-breaking August by almost 20 percent.

According to data from the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (ČHMÚ), this March was warmer than normal and very dry. Average sunshine duration reached 174 hours, representing 139 percent of the 1991 to 2020 norm. According to EDC, these weather conditions created ideal conditions for generation from photovoltaic power plants.

"March weather showed us in practice how effective electricity sharing combined with photovoltaics can be as a community energy tool. The record volume of shared electricity, which was four times higher than last March's figures, confirms that energy decentralisation in Czechia has ceased to be a theory and has become a mass phenomenon. People and companies have learned to make maximum use of the spring sunshine," said EDC executive director Petr Kusý.

EDC has been operating since mid-2024 and is the main coordinating centre for community energy in Czechia. It registers participants and provides, for example, assessments of electricity sharing between active customers, receiving metering data from distribution system operators.

After more than a year and a half of electricity sharing, around 41.000 participants have signed up in Czechia. They have formed 24.355 so-called sharing groups. The total volume of electricity shared since the service was launched in August 2024 has reached almost 80 GWh, equivalent, according to the centre, to the annual consumption of 26.000 households, or a city the size of Most.

This year, EDC will expand its services with new functions for energy storage, aggregation of technical flexibility and a so-called grid traffic light for smart grid management. It plans to launch them from August. The services are intended to make more efficient use of renewable sources and increase the reliability of system operation.