Czech utility Teplárny Brno will not raise heat prices from January despite rising costs

The price of heat for Brno households and businesses will remain unchanged from January next year, despite rising costs for the heating utility. Customers will again pay 1154 Czech crowns per gigajoule (GJ), including VAT. Teplárny Brno director Petr Fajmon told journalists today. The municipally owned company will cover the increase in costs from its own resources.

"We are offsetting some of the cost pressures through previously secured purchases of natural gas, higher revenues from electricity sales and gradual decarbonisation, in particular the biomass facility in Brno-North and the growing use of heat from SAKO Brno," Fajmon said.

The woodchip boiler, which is currently undergoing trial operation, should begin covering 15 percent of heat production from next year. For now, the heating utility produces 80 percent of its heat from natural gas, while purchasing the remaining 20 percent from the municipal waste incineration plant operated by SAKO Brno.

Due to rising natural gas prices, Teplárny Brno increased its price in November 2022 to 1672 Czech crowns per GJ from the original 784 crowns. It subsequently cut the price three times, most recently by 67 crowns per GJ from 1 January 2025.

For this year, the heating utility expects heat sales to be around seven percent higher than last year due to this year's lower average temperature.