Czech electricity prices to rise from January 2027 for households

Households in Czechia will pay more for electricity next year. According to the draft price decisions for 2027 published by the Energy Regulatory Office (ERÚ), electricity distribution charges will rise most from January. The document is still in consultation and may change; final prices will be known at the end of November.

What gets more expensive in 2027

Under the draft, the regulated part of the price for households will rise by 2.8% year on year on average, and its main item, electricity distribution, by 4.9%. The increase varies between consumer groups: much depends on the distribution tariff, which is set by consumption volume and what the electricity is used for.

Many customers also face a higher “power” component, the price of the electricity itself, which the supplier sets based on its wholesale purchases. Gas and electricity prices are climbing because of the crisis in the Persian Gulf. The rise is showing up not only for those who recently fixed their price but also in open-ended price lists. ČEZ, the country’s largest electricity supplier, raised the price in tariff D02d from 1 January by 330 Kč per MWh to 4,190 Kč including VAT.

In tariff D25d, customers will now pay 4,300 Kč per MWh including VAT at the low rate and 4,030 Kč at the high rate. Those heating under tariff D57d will pay 4,480 Kč per MWh, with night-time power 130 Kč cheaper. Similar increases can be expected from other suppliers.

The charge for system services collected by the transmission system operator ČEPS, by contrast, falls to 146.94 Kč including VAT per MWh, down 26% on average. It is the same for all households regardless of tariff. As this year, consumers will not pay the 599 Kč item for supporting renewable electricity (POZE) next year: the state again takes it over, spending roughly 41 billion Kč from the budget.

Distribution charges will rise in every tariff and with all three distributors. The monthly circuit-breaker fee, which depends on the breaker type, will also go up, whether or not any electricity is used.

What households will pay

Most households use electricity for lighting, cooking and everyday needs, so they are on tariff D02d with average consumption of 2.5 MWh a year. According to ERÚ, there are 2.8 million such supply points in Czechia. From January, distribution of one MWh will cost them 122.08 Kč more, 2,637.16 Kč including VAT. The regulated part will rise by roughly 600 Kč, and total annual costs at 2.5 MWh will increase by 1,448 Kč to 23,071 Kč including VAT.

If a household also uses electricity to heat water, it is on tariff D25d with average consumption of 3.5 MWh a year. The electricity itself will cost 8.74% more, the regulated part 3.9% more. For the electricity alone a household will pay almost two thousand crowns more, 15,004 Kč, and with the regulated component total costs rise to 27,302 Kč including VAT. This affects about a million customers.

Tariffs D45d, D56d and D57d are for those who heat with electric heating, a heat pump or direct heaters. Their regulated payments are the lowest, but because of high consumption their energy costs are higher than other households’. The increase is the largest here: the regulated part rises by 5.67% and the commodity by 8.21%. 370,000 households with average consumption of 8.2 MWh will pay 50,293 Kč including VAT a year, of which 12,732 Kč is the regulated part and 35,803 Kč the electricity itself.

Next year is probably the last in which the regulated part is paid under the old tariff structure. From 2028, ERÚ wants to change the approach: more distribution costs are to shift into the circuit-breaker fee, while the charge for the electricity actually delivered, which depends on consumption, should fall.

Around Prague, based on reporting by seznamzpravy.cz