ČEZ to raise electricity and gas prices for 1.6 million customers in January

ČEZ will increase electricity and gas prices for approximately 1.6 million customers on open-ended contracts from Jan. 1, 2027, the energy supplier announced Friday.

The changes will affect both existing and new customers whose prices are not fixed. For households on the most common electricity tariff, D02d, the supply price will rise to CZK 4,190 per megawatt-hour, including VAT. Gas supply will cost CZK 1,740 per MWh, including VAT.

ČEZ attributed the increases to rising wholesale energy costs and continuing instability in the Middle East. Other major Czech suppliers have also raised prices on newly offered fixed-rate products during the year.

The January changes concern customers without a fixed-price commitment. Customers with an agreed fixed price are outside the scope of this announcement.

According to ČEZ, electricity will become approximately CZK 330 more expensive per MWh, including VAT, while gas will rise by about CZK 180 per MWh.

For illustration, those increases would add approximately CZK 990 annually for a household consuming three MWh of electricity, or CZK 2,700 for one using 15 MWh of gas, assuming unchanged consumption.

The announced supply prices are only part of an energy bill. Distribution and other regulated charges also contribute to the final amount households pay, so the figures should not be read as complete prices per MWh.

ČEZ described the increases as 3.5 percent for electricity and 6.5 percent for gas. The effect on an individual household’s total bill will depend on its tariff, consumption and other charges.

Wholesale electricity prices have risen approximately 75 percent since the beginning of the year, while gas prices have increased about 140 percent, according to ČEZ spokesman Ondřej Svoboda.

“The situation on the markets is unfortunately not calming down, and it does not look likely to calm down in the foreseeable future,” Svoboda told ČTK.

The company also reported stronger interest in fixed-price contracts, particularly agreements lasting two or three years. ČEZ itself increased prices on some fixed-rate offers at the end of August.

Other suppliers, including innogy, E.ON, Pražská energetika, MND, Pražská plynárenská and Centropol, have raised prices on fixed-rate products by hundreds of crowns per MWh this year, in some cases repeatedly.

These changes concern the prices offered when customers enter new agreements or renew their contracts; they do not mean every household with an existing fixed-rate contract immediately pays more.

European wholesale gas briefly reached EUR 100 per MWh on Wednesday, its first visit to that level since December 2022.