Czech Government Approved a Special Energy Tariff to Aid Households

On Wednesday, August 23, the Czech government approved the so-called “energy tariff” program.

It consists of the provision of state assistance to all private consumers with the payment of bills for electricity, gas and heating. On average, households will receive CZK 15,000.

Part of the program is the abolition of the mandatory fee for the development of renewable energy (poplatek za obnovitelné zdroje elektřiny). Consumers will be exempt from this fee until the end of 2023.

Currently, the government is preparing a website with a special calculator, where residents can find out the amount of assistance specifically in their case. It will be launched on the website of the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The energy-saving tariff will take the form of a subsidy from the state budget intended for energy suppliers, who will then reduce payments to households by this subsidy.

Assistance will be provided gradually throughout the winter season. Consumers will notice the first discounts on invoices in October. Until the end of 2022, residents will receive an average of CZK 4,000 of compensation, the rest will be “transferred” at the beginning of 2023.

In total, the government allocated CZK 66 billion for the program. Two-thirds of this amount will go to help household consumers, one-third – businesses.

Energy has been among drivers of Czech inflation, which has been running at three-decade highs of 17.5% year-on-year in July.

According to the Ministry of Finance, Czechia’s households and industry are not in danger of being impacted by gas cuts this year due to the accumulation of sufficient reserves and the renting out of LNG terminals abroad.