Czech EV charging network expanded by hundreds of stations last year, with usage also up

Usage of the Czech network of electric vehicle charging stations surged last year. Hundreds of new stations were added along the roads. Network operators recorded consumption growth of several dozen percent, and the number of charging sessions also increased. New charging points are likely to continue being added at a similar pace in cities and especially along major routes this year. This is according to information from operators.

The sharp rise in the use of charging stations is going hand in hand with growing interest in electric cars. The number of registered electric vehicles rose by 64,7 percent last year to 10.933 cars. In addition to fully electric cars, tens of thousands of hybrid vehicles are on the roads in the Czech Republic.

The largest operators of electric vehicle charging stations are responding to this trend. „There are already around 6000 public charging points in Czechia, ranking us 14th among European Union countries. That means there are approximately 5,2 battery electric vehicles per public charging point,“ said Lukáš Kadula of the Transport Research Centre.

The largest network is operated by ČEZ. The company opened 182 new stations last year, its highest number in a single year to date. It now operates 842 in total. Electricity consumption at the stations rose by 74 percent year on year to 9,6 gigawatt hours (GWh). The number of charging sessions increased by 47 percent to more than 414.000. According to the company, the significant increase in energy drawn is being driven mainly by ultra-fast chargers, which can charge an electric vehicle in ten minutes. ČEZ installed 72 of them last year.

ČEZ will continue building this year. It plans to increase the number of charging points to more than 1000. Ultra-fast points are to remain a priority. „This year, thanks to new construction and the acquisition of additional customers, we would like to exceed 12 million kWh. Milestones this year will include increasing the network’s capacity from today’s 70 MW to 100 MW and raising the share of ultra-fast charger capacity to 45,“ said Tomáš Dzurilla, head of ČEZ’s electromobility division.

Prague Energy (PRE), the second-largest charging network operator, also had a record year for electromobility. It commissioned 84 new public stations last year, bringing the total in its network to 744. According to the company, electricity consumption at the stations rose by 44 percent year on year to 7,57 GWh. December was particularly strong, PRE said, with customers using 878 MWh of electricity. The number of charging sessions rose by 35,5 percent to 412.000. Average consumption per charge also increased to 18,4 kWh, a rise of six percent.

„Last year, electromobility received some support from the National Development Bank, which helped add almost 6000 new passenger battery electric vehicles to Czech roads. This naturally goes hand in hand with increased consumption. Their quality and capabilities are improving every year, and surveys show that two-thirds of current battery car owners would no longer go back to an internal combustion engine,“ said Libor Hladík, head of the E-mobility section at PRE.

Alongside public stations, the number of company and private ones is also growing. „The number of new non-public charging stations is beginning to approach the number of public ones we commission during the year,“ Hladík noted.

sip snm