Coal plants had a difficult year: output fell sharply at the market’s No. 2 player
According to available data, coal-fired power generation in the Czech Republic fell by 12 % last year. Output from hard-coal-fired plants declined significantly, with these sources generating just 0,64 TWh in 2024, compared with 1,77 TWh the year before. The decline at lignite-fired plants was more moderate, but output still fell from 25,13 TWh to 23 TWh. Which of the major coal plants contributed most significantly to the decline?
The power sector in 2024 was characterised by declining electricity generation from lignite- and hard-coal-fired sources. For economic reasons, they were finding it increasingly difficult to compete in the wholesale market. Relatively low electricity prices for most of the year were one factor, while relatively high emissions allowance prices were another.
Sev.en was the first company to draw attention to the problem of uneconomic operation. In March last year, it warned that it was considering closing its Počerady and Chvaletice power plants as early as the end of the 2025 heating season, i.e. in the following months.
It should be noted that the economics of operating each power plant depend on the trading strategy adopted by its operator. Information on when the operation of a particular plant becomes loss-making may therefore differ. For example, ČEZ generally expected its plants to remain profitable somewhat longer than Sev.en’s plants.
Deteriorating operating economics were already gradually reflected last year in lower output from the Czech Republic’s largest coal-fired sources.
| Year | Počerady (coal) | Tušimice | Chvaletice | Prunéřov 2 | Kladno CHP plant | Ledvice | Tisová |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 4,46 | 4,51 | 3,56 | 3,33 | 1,93 | 2,67 | 0,52 |
| 2020 | 4,41 | 3,88 | 2,15 | 2,91 | 1,57 | 2,50 | 0,38 |
| 2021 | 4,26 | 3,55 | 3,32 | 3,58 | 1,91 | 3,60 | 0,55 |
| 2022 | 5,01 | 3,64 | 4,47 | 3,61 | 2,18 | 2,77 | 0,63 |
| 2023 | 3,97 | 3,87 | 2,81 | 3,13 | 2,16 | 2,65 | 0,53 |
| 2024 | 3,40 | 3,79 | 2,48 | 3,43 | 1,60 | 2,45 | 0,26 |
| Change [%] | -14,53 | -1,97 | -11,49 | 9,78 | -25,63 | -7,43 | -50,02 |
| Change [TWh] | -0,58 | -0,08 | -0,32 | 0,31 | -0,55 | -0,20 | -0,26 |
Data on Sev.en confirm that output from its plants did indeed decline last year. The fall was even greater than at ČEZ’s plants. The data show that generation from selected large Sev.en coal plants fell by almost 1,5 TWh. In relative terms, this represents a 16% decline.
Although ČEZ’s plants also recorded a decline, it was less pronounced than in Sev.en’s case. Taken together, the ČEZ lignite plants listed in the table generated 0,23 TWh less (i.e. roughly 2 %).
Generation at the Dětmarovice hard-coal plant is a separate case. Its output has been steadily declining since 2021, and this winter is the last in which it will generate electricity from coal.
New gas-fired and biomass facilities are gradually being built in Dětmarovice to replace older coal-fired and gas-fired units. At the end of last year, ČEZ said it had already signed ten-year contracts for the supply of biomass.
You can find out how other energy-sector segments performed in 2024 HERE.
