ČEZ invests CZK 20 billion in district heating in Czech Ústí Region, builds boiler plants

ČEZ is investing CZK 20 billion in district heating in the Ústí Region. New gas boiler plants have been completed in Prunéřov and Tušimice in the Chomutov area, as well as five gas boiler plants in the Střekov district of Ústí nad Labem. Construction of a biomass boiler plant, a cogeneration unit and a hot-water pipeline to Kadaň is being prepared in Prunéřov. In Tušimice, the company plans to build a small modular reactor and is considering a combined-cycle gas plant in Trmice in the Ústí area. ČEZ ESCO director Kamil Čermák told journalists today.

According to Čermák, the ČEZ Group will be ready for a managed exit from coal by 2030. “This is a realistic horizon for us,” he said. The level of investment will have only a minimal impact on heat prices. “Long-term plans and contracts imply increases that are relatively small compared with the rest of the country,” he said. Last May, ČEZ said it would invest CZK 100 billion in the transformation of energy and district heating in the Ústí Region by 2030. This should preserve the district heating system, which operates in most larger towns in the region.

Coal in the region will be replaced by natural gas and biomass. In the future, heat from small modular reactors, hydrogen and waste utilisation are also envisaged. The gas boilers in Ústí nad Labem, Prunéřov and Tušimice cost a total of CZK 250 million.

The gas boiler plant in Prunéřov currently serves as an alternative source to the existing coal-fired unit. It will initially supply customers with heat only in summer and later year-round. It began operating in June. The town of Kadaň currently receives heat from Tušimice. ČEZ Teplárenská will build a 5.7-kilometre hot-water pipeline from Prunéřov to Kadaň, to be completed in 2027. Kadaň has signed a contract with ČEZ Teplárenská for heat supplies for a further 15 years.

A biomass boiler and additional gas boiler plants will be built in Prunéřov. These sources should supply customers during the 2028/2029 heating season, ahead of the announced end of coal generation in 2030. Two lignite-fired power plants stood in Prunéřov; operations at Prunéřov I ended in June 2020.

In the Střekov district of Ústí nad Labem, ČEZ ESCO built five gas boiler plants and one kilometre of new gas pipelines in cooperation with the city. “We have thus secured heat supplies for 3,000 households,” said Mayor Petr Nedvědický (ANO). The city hall is planning another investment next year for 160 connection points supplied with heat by district heating company Energy. It owes money for emissions allowances and faces the threat of ceasing operations. “After many discussions with the affected residents, we are offering gas heating. The city will be the investor in this project so that we can secure an alternative source in the event of a heat supply outage,” Nedvědický told ČTK. The investment amounts to around CZK 20 million and is due to be completed by the end of 2026.