ERÚ sets hours during which Czechia must cut electricity consumption by an average of 5%

The Energy Regulatory Office (ERÚ) announced on its website the hours during which electricity consumption in Czechia must be reduced by an average of 5%, in line with the EU regulation. ERÚ has designated 9–10, 13–14 and 16–17 on working days, and 11–12 on non-working days, as peak hours.

Most obligations arising from Council Regulation (EU) 2022/1854 on an emergency intervention to address high energy prices have applied since 1 December. In addition to the widely discussed revenue caps for electricity generators, the regulation also sets binding and non-binding targets for reducing electricity consumption.

The regulation establishes two targets for electricity consumption. The first is a voluntary 10% reduction in gross electricity consumption; the second is a mandatory average 5% reduction in electricity consumption during peak demand hours. Each Member State determines the peak period independently, but it must account for at least 10% of the hours between 1 December 2022 and 31 March 2023. During those hours, Member States are then required to reduce consumption by an average of at least 5% per hour.

In Czechia, the Energy Regulatory Office has set the peak period as follows:

The above hours have been set only for December this year. Under the regulation, the peak period is to be set until the end of March. Before the end of the year, the Energy Regulatory Office will therefore have to set the hours again, and may do so in the same way.

Meeting the target requires measures to reduce electricity consumption

Under the regulation, Member States may choose their own method for achieving the consumption reduction. However, the selected measures must meet certain rules. For example, if consumers are to be financially compensated for reducing their consumption, the amount of compensation must be determined through a tender or auction.

The European regulation has chosen a relatively complex method for calculating the reduction in electricity consumption. The reduction is calculated as the difference between actual electricity consumption and the consumption that the transmission system operator would have forecast had the effects of measures introduced to achieve the consumption reduction not been taken into account. The adoption of measures aimed at reducing consumption is therefore a prerequisite for meeting the target.

The Energy Act has not yet introduced any measures to reduce electricity consumption. Its latest amendment merely gave the Energy Regulatory Office the power to set the peak period, which ERÚ did in the middle of this week.

As the Czech News Agency (ČTK) reports, the Czech government wants to achieve the savings through a combination of voluntary savings, not imposing a cap on businesses' total consumption, savings prompted by higher prices during peak hours, a campaign and other measures already in operation.