Until the end of last year, the offer of the largest energy suppliers did not differ much. The curve on the energy exchanges then fluctuated significantly, but in January it started to calm down and went down. And suppliers are already starting to respond to this in their price lists.
Competition has started to return to the market and suppliers are competing to see who will have a price below the government ceiling, which is CZK 6,050 for power electricity including VAT and CZK 3,025 for gas taken including VAT. Since January, most large suppliers have done so, including ČEZ, E.ON, innogy, MND and Centropol.
Merchants began to take the decrease into account first in the price lists for new customers with a guaranteed price, or for those whose fixation will end and want to extend their contract.
E.ON was the first to do so, having managed to buy electricity and gas cheaply in advance. Their new price list for electricity is 254 CZK below the ceiling, for gas 1 CZK. However, experts recommend considering the offer, as it may happen that customers commit to a single price for three years, which may further decrease in the meantime, but clients will not feel it.
Electricity for normal consumption, lighting and cooking (rate D02d) will cost 5,743 CZK including VAT (4,746 CZK per MWh without VAT). However, it is a commercial price to which a regulated component must be added. If the household also uses electricity to heat water, it will pay CZK 6,003 per MWh including VAT (CZK 4,961 without VAT). If he also uses electricity for heating, he will pay CZK 6,033 for VAT (CZK 4,986 without VAT).
Gas for households with a consumption of up to 1.89 MWh per year, i.e. for cooking, will cost CZK 3,023.79 per MWh including VAT (CZK 2,499 without VAT). For customers with higher consumption who also heat water with gas, E.ON set a price of CZK 2,824.14 including VAT per MWh (CZK 2,334 without VAT). When a household heats with gas, it pays CZK 2,790 per MWh including VAT (CZK 2,306 without VAT).
E.ON was soon followed by innogy. The new product guarantees customers the same gas price for one year. It fell by up to 250 CZK lower than the ceiling, so to 2250 CZK per MWh without VAT.
If the customer has low consumption, he will pay CZK 2,290 per MWh of gas at innoga without VAT. The price for people who heat their water with gas is CZK 2,270 without VAT. Those who also heat with gas will pay CZK 2,250 without VAT according to the new price list.
Centropol also reacted to the favorable price development. On Tuesday, he issued a new price list with gas price fixing for one year, where the price per MWh is CZK 57 below the ceiling. With consumption up to 1.89 MWh, the customer pays 2956.03 per MWh with VAT (CZK 2443 without VAT). When heating water with gas, they will pay CZK 2,755.17 per MWh including VAT (CZK 2,277 without VAT), while for heating, the MWh will be CZK 2,717.66 including VAT (CZK 2,246 without VAT).
| Supplier | Product | The price of electricity at the D02d rate | The difference to the ceiling |
|---|---|---|---|
| E.ON | Fixing electricity prices for 3 years | 5743 CZK with VAT (4746 CZK without VAT) | 254 CZK |
| Centropol | Fixation of electricity prices for 1 year and further according to the prices of 2024 | 5868.5 CZK with VAT (4850 CZK without VAT) | 150 CZK |
| OVER | Fixing electricity prices for 2 to 3 years | 1st year 5000 CZK without VAT, 2nd year 4690 CZK without VAT, 4332 CZK without VAT | 1st year 0 CZK, 2nd year 310 CZK, 3rd year 668 CZK |
Centropol also issued new price lists for electricity. One of the products combines the possibility of fixation with an indefinite period. “Our product Fixed without obligation combines the advantages of a fixed and indefinite contract regime. The customer has a guaranteed price below the ceiling level until the end of 2023 and will then switch to the current price for 2024,” says Jiří Matoušek, Marketing Director of Centropol.
In the customer’s basic rate, a MWh of electricity costs CZK 5,868.5 including VAT (4,850 without VAT). The saving compared to the government ceiling is thus 150 CZK. If the customer also uses electricity to heat water, he will pay CZK 6,048.5 per MWh including VAT (CZK 4,850 without VAT). When a household heats with electricity, it pays CZK 5,929 including VAT (CZK 4,900 without VAT).
| Supplier | Product | Price of cooking gas | The difference to the ceiling |
|---|---|---|---|
| E.ON | Fixation of gas prices for 3 years | 3023.79 CZK with VAT (2499 CZK without VAT) | 1 CZK |
| Innogy | Fixation of gas prices for 1 year | 2770.9 CZK with VAT (2290 CZK without VAT) | 210 CZK |
| Centropol | Fixation of gas prices for 1 year | CZK 2956.03 with VAT (CZK 2443 without VAT) | 57 CZK |
| OVER | Fixation of gas prices for 2 to 3 years | 1st year 2500 CZK without VAT, 2nd year 2090 CZK without VAT, 3rd year 1500 CZK without VAT | 1st year 0 CZK, 2nd year 410 CZK, 3rd year 1000 CZK |
However, for Centropol’s latest one-year fixed product, the amounts are still slightly above the ceiling. For example, in the D02 rate, a household pays CZK 6,661 including VAT per MW (CZK 5,505 without VAT). The prices thus exceed the government maximum by CZK 505.
The largest domestic energy supplier ČEZ also recently announced new price lists. It will offer new customers and those whose fixed contracts end, products with a guaranteed price for electricity and gas for two or three years. The price lists are exceptional in that they take into account the drop in energy prices during the duration of the contract. However, customers will only get under the price ceiling after the first year.
During the first year, heating gas prices will touch the ceiling of CZK 2,500 without VAT (CZK 3,025 including VAT). The following year, he will pay CZK 2,090 without VAT for the natural gas taken, and if he agrees to fix it for three years, he will pay CZK 1,500 per MWh of gas for the last 12 months without VAT. In the second year, the savings compared to the ceiling amount to CZK 410 per MWh, and in the third year already CZK 1,000.
“In the case of a three-year fixation, a customer heating with gas will get up to 1,500 crowns per MWh, which is 1,000 crowns and 40 percent lower than the capped prices. A household living in a family house that heats with gas will thus save approximately 10,000 crowns per year compared to the ceiling. For electricity, the savings compared to the ceiling will be up to 700 crowns per MWh,” explains Tomáš Kadlec, CEO of ČEZ Prodej.
Electricity prices are not going down as fast as gas prices, but we hope that is only a matter of time.
In the first year for electricity, customers will again pay the government ceiling of CZK 5,000 without VAT (CZK 6,050 with VAT) at the D02 rate. In this case, the household would already pay a price below the ceiling in the second year. A MWh would cost 4,690 CZK without VAT. Compared to the government ceiling, the price is 310 CZK lower. In the third year, the household would pay CZK 4,332 without VAT, which means a difference of CZK 668 compared to the ceiling price.
“Electricity prices are not going down as fast as gas prices, but we hope that it is only a matter of time,” says Kadlec.
Current clients are also feeling the decline
Energy suppliers have begun to take the drop in prices into account in their price lists for existing customers who have contracts for an indefinite period.
Innogy’s customers have been affected by the current events in the energy markets since the beginning of February. For those who only cook with gas, the price will be reduced by CZK 48.1 compared to the ceiling. They will pay CZK 2,451.90 per MWh without VAT. If they also use gas for water heating, it will cost them CZK 2,332.08 per MWh, and people using heating will pay CZK 2,299.28 without VAT.
“The January drop in gas prices on the wholesale markets already allows us to offer gas supply below the price ceiling that has been in effect since the beginning of the year. A family that heats an average house with gas will save three and a half thousand crowns with our new offer compared to the price ceiling. For now, we are cautious and still only offer customers contracts for 12 months, and then we will offer them a new contract again according to the current situation,” says David Konvalina, innogy’s director of retail and marketing.
For the majority of regular E.ON customers, the new prices will apply from February 15, for several other price lists, the new prices will apply from March 1. Both for electricity and gas.
“For clients, this means savings of up to several thousand CZK per year. I am very happy that finally, after a very long time when only bad news came from the energy market, we can tell our customers something positive,” says Jan Zápotočný, deputy chairman of the board of directors of E.ON Energie.
Electricity at the D02d rate will be reduced to CZK 5,705 with VAT (CZK 4,715 without VAT). Compared to the capped price, the new price is 285 CZK lower. If the household also uses electricity to heat water, the price per MWh including VAT is CZK 5,964 (CZK 4,929 without VAT). In the case of electric heating, the household will pay CZK 5,994 including VAT (CZK 4,945 without VAT).
Households that use electricity for heating will save 2,000 CZK, and if we talk about households that use gas for heating, it can be up to 4,000 CZK per year.
In the case of gas, the saving corresponds to CZK 57 if the customer only cooks with gas. In this case, MWh will cost 2956.03 CZK with VAT (2443 CZK without VAT). For those who heat water with gas, the price will drop to 2756.38 CZK per MWh with VAT (2278 CZK without VAT), and for those who also use gas for heating, the amount per MWh will drop to 2774.5 CZK including VAT ( 2278 CZK without VAT).
“Households that use electricity for heating will save 2,000 CZK, and if we talk about households that use gas for heating, it can be up to 4,000 CZK per year. As you can see, these are not symbolic savings,” explains the deputy chairman of the board of directors.
On the other hand, customers with the product for an indefinite period at ČEZ will feel the decrease at the beginning of the year.
Several factors are responsible for the drop in prices. On the one hand, Europe is succeeding in replacing gas supplies from Russia, which has also lost its influence on the price of the commodity, which fluctuated significantly last year under the threat of stopping supplies. The reduction in the price of gas also affects the falling price of electricity, which is still linked to the price of gas due to the production of electricity in steam-gas power plants. Warm weather and savings also help to lower prices.
