At a time of economic crisis, expensive energy and the recent collapse of several suppliers, the government is coming up with a plan to solve the situation. The amendment to the Energy Act is intended to enable people to share electricity with each other and thus save significantly. It is to be valid from January next year. “Competition will be greater and energy prices will fall,” declares Lukáš Vlček, MP for STAN and one of the authors of the new law.
Renewable resources helped Pavlo Soviš from Uherskohradišťsk twice. He saves money thanks to the fact that he installed photovoltaic panels on the roof of his house, and at the same time earns money in a company that installs them for people. “Purchasing solar panels was the best investment in my life. Thanks to the contract, I am sure that E.ON will buy electricity from me for at least 20 years,” he says, explaining how he sells off excess energy.
The great interest in own source of electricity is confirmed by the Minister of Industry and Trade Josef Síkela for the STAN movement. “We received applications for subsidies for the installation of photovoltaic power plants worth nine billion crowns,” says the minister, who supports renewable sources.
His office is now preparing a major amendment to the Energy Act known as Lex OZE II. Thanks to it, all energy consumers will be able to participate in its production and sharing. Between neighbors, companies, buildings or even cottagers who will be able to remotely generate electricity for their housing in cities. It will help people save money. A study by the EGÚ Brno organization from 2021 states that community energy can cover up to 79 percent of the annual consumption of Czech households.
The change is to come into effect from January next year. But it must first be approved by the House of Representatives, the Senate and signed by the President. Coalition MPs believe that it could bring more support to the cabinet of Petr Fiala from the ODS. So far, the government is facing criticism from people who describe its help in raising prices as insufficient.
“It will be a revolution. I believe that people will appreciate it. The expenses of individuals and companies can significantly decrease,” declares the vice-chairman of STAN Lukáš Vlček, who helped prepare the amendment. He immediately gives an example. “Whoever has a big roof and free money will put more solar panels on it. He will get more energy than he uses, and he will share it with a neighbor who doesn’t have such options,” he explains.
First Vice-President of STAN Lukáš Vlček in an interview for Aktuálně.cz | Photo: Radek Bartoníček
According to Vlček, people will still feel the change in the current election period, i.e. until 2025. “There will be a large number of small energy producers, up to hundreds of thousands. Competition on the market will be greater and energy prices will fall,” the MP describes how the current government wants to help people.
He gives Pacov in Pelhřimovsk as an example. A city with less than five thousand inhabitants has started installing photovoltaics on the roofs of municipal buildings. The town hall is going to invest up to 20 million crowns in it. Thanks to this, it will reduce the energy demand of the city and, as a result, save money.
Last year, 33,760 photovoltaic power plants with a total output of 288.8 megawatts were added in the Czech Republic, which means an increase of 366 percent year-on-year. In the first quarter of this year, the number of subsidy applications rose to 21,587, which is three times more than in the same period last year. This is stated by the State Environmental Fund of the Czech Republic and the Accumulation and Photovoltaic Guild.
“Sharing electricity brings a lot of good, it can also be seen in housing cooperatives and owners’ associations, which have been able to do this since the beginning of this year,” says David Blažek, chief coordinator of the Union of Community Energy. According to him, the system will also help people who cannot afford their own solar power plant. “You just have to join the community that runs it,” he reminds.
The sharing of electricity in apartment buildings is a preliminary step to wider sharing based on the Lex OZE II amendment. For now, people in one house connected to the public distribution network can make arrangements. They are also easier to install. While previously it was necessary to apply for a license to produce electricity for solar power plants with an output of more than 10 kilowatts, the limit has now been raised to 50 kilowatts. Which corresponds to the need for electricity in apartment buildings.
In the introduction of community energy, the Czech Republic has a slippage of several years. Based on European law, it should have been possible as early as 2020, when the cabinet of Andrej Babiš from ANO was still in power. But it was not until the current coalition government of ODS, KDU-ČSL, TOP 09, Starostů and Pirátů started preparing it.
