Czech gas supplies are sufficient, CEZ says; no winter shortages expected

There is enough gas in storage for the winter, and purchases of supplies are continuing as usual despite the current situation on the energy market. Martin Novák, chief financial officer of the ČEZ energy group, told the Czech News Agency (ČTK) today. He said there was no risk of a gas shortage in Czechia this winter. The company is currently negotiating, for example, a supply contract from the US and other locations, and talks are also continuing on extending capacity at the LNG terminal in Eemshaven.

Gas prices on the energy market have risen sharply this year. The price of a megawatt-hour (MWh) of gas on the wholesale market is currently around 90 euros, although at the end of October it briefly reached 100 euros per MWh for the first time since December 2022. At the start of the year, the price was around 30 euros per MWh. The increase is being driven by the conflict in the Middle East. As a result of high prices, Europe’s gas storage facilities are less full this year than they have been for several years. According to Monday’s data, Czech storage facilities are 73.2 percent full, slightly above the EU average. At this time last year, however, storage facilities in Czechia were more than 90 percent full.