Czech energy regulator fees likely to rise by a few dozen crowns a year as ministry proposes increase
Fees for the activities of the Energy Regulatory Office (ERÚ) are likely to rise by a few dozen crowns a year. The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MPO) has now proposed increasing the rates of these fees for both electricity and gas. An average household that heats or cooks with gas will pay just under 30 Kč more per year. The reason for the increase is rising costs for the regulator’s operations and overall workload. The MPO informed ČTK of this in a press release today. The current fees have been in place since 2016.
Participants in the energy market pay the fee for the activities of ERÚ as part of the charge for operating non-network infrastructure and the charge for the market operator’s activities.
The current fee rate in the electricity sector is 2.39 Kč per month for each supply point, and in the gas sector it is 1.34 Kč per megawatt-hour (MWh) of gas consumed. The MPO has now proposed raising these rates to four crowns per month for each electricity supply point and 2.20 Kč per MWh in the gas sector.
For electricity, the annual fee will therefore increase by 19.32 Kč compared with the current rate, regardless of consumption. For gas, by contrast, the final increase will depend on consumption, with the fee rising by 0.86 Kč for each megawatt-hour consumed. The average annual gas consumption at a supply point where gas is used for heating, water heating and cooking is around eight megawatt-hours.
„The Energy Regulatory Office’s remit has expanded considerably in recent years, and its services are even more important now, given the current situation in the energy market. People are asking for help more often, and there are far more disputes between customers and suppliers. The Office is carrying out more inspections, legislation is being amended more frequently, and negotiations with regulated entities over costs are more intensive. It is also more involved in developing the system for sharing electricity and modernising Czech energy,“ said Minister of Industry and Trade Jozef Síkela (STAN), explaining the reasons for the fee increase.
The MPO has proposed increasing the rates by means of a government regulation. If approved, the fees will rise from this July.
Translation disclaimer
This article is a machine translation of the Czech original and has not yet been fully reviewed. In case of any doubt, please refer to the Czech version.
