ČEZ to Rise Gas Prices by Two Thirds Next Year

The CEO of Czech energy giant CEZ, Daniel Beneš confirmed that the price of electricity will rise by around a third while gas prices will be half to two-thirds more expensive.  

During an interview with Hospodářské noviny, he said the company will announce the changes on November 1 with effect from January 1.

“We estimate that the final bill received by households may result in an increase of 30 percent compared to this year,” said Beneš. He reminded that the wholesale energy prices in Europe had reached record levels this year. According to him, there are several reasons.

“On one hand, it is an increase in the price of gas, with which the price of electricity is connected, and on the other hand, emission allowances have become more expensive and the economy has risen in time, so the demand for energy has risen, as well,” he said.

The increase in gas prices will be even higher than for electricity. “It’s really dramatic. We are not the main supplier, there are other players on the market, but my estimate is that the final bill will increase in price by half to two-thirds”.

In addition to the impact on consumers, the situation has also caused problems for some suppliers. Last week, Bohemia Energy, one of the biggest Czech electricity and gas suppliers, shut down operations due to a surge of power prices.

The privately-held business had some 900,000 customers.

The largest energy suppliers such as ČEZ, PRE, E.ON have been showing huge interest from customers of some smaller suppliers in recent days, some companies are talking about thousands of new demands a day.