Gas prices in the Czech Republic published on Wednesday by the European agency Eurostat do not correspond to reality and it is necessary to find out why, Prime Minister Petr Fiala from the ODS announced. Next week, he will therefore meet with representatives of energy companies, the Energy Regulatory Office and the Czech Statistical Office. According to Eurostat, gas for households became more expensive in the Czech Republic in the second half of last year than in the entire European Union.
“We have to find out why it doesn’t correspond to reality. I don’t know if Eurostat is behind it, but the data is supplied by our institutions,” said Fiala at the Pirates’ meeting in Liberec on Saturday. “We know, and just look at the statements and facts presented by the energy companies, that the numbers do not add up and that our citizens are not paying these amounts,” he added.
“The published data do not correspond in terms of amounts or trends. Prices developed in a different way, the key energy players on the market say so openly,” continued the Prime Minister. “If, for example, a company that has 40 percent of the electricity market tells you that such prices could apply to a maximum of two to three percent of its customers, it is clear that the numbers do not add up,” he described.
“It’s something that worries the Czech public unnecessarily – and rightly so,” Fiala warned. “We have to be sure that we are also working in the public space with numbers and data that correspond to reality,” he added.
The Union Statistical Office announced on Wednesday that gas prices for households in the Czech Republic increased by 231 percent year-on-year in the second half of last year, by far the most of all European Union countries. For example, in Slovakia, growth was 18 percent and was the second lowest in the Union. According to Eurostat, the data collection and methodology used correspond to the prices as charged to customers. “The final prices paid by customers include compensation measures taken by the government,” Eurostat said.
The spokesman of the Energy Regulatory Office, Michal Kebort, pointed out on Wednesday that the prices indicated by Eurostat are based on the then price offers of suppliers on the market intended for new customers. Most people in the Czech Republic paid lower prices for gas at that time.
