CEZ: The worst part of the energy crisis is over, energy prices will continue to fall

The worst part of the energy crisis is over, the market has stabilized faster than expected. Pavel Cyrani, Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the CEZ energy group, said this at today's press conference. According to him, energy prices on the market will continue to fall. According to him, the reduction of prices on the market will be gradual for end customers.

"We have passed the most hectic crisis. Stabilisation has come even faster than we expected," Cyrani said. He pointed in particular to the drop in energy prices on the stock exchange, with the wholesale price of electricity falling to 135 euros (about 3,240 CZK) per MWh excluding VAT in recent weeks. Gas prices have now fallen below 40 euros (about 959 CZK) per MWh, the lowest since July 2021.

Meanwhile, Cyrani said electricity and gas prices will continue to fall. He said that the rapid substitution of Russian gas from other sources and the production of electricity from non-gas sources contributed to the calming down of the situation. Savings by customers or the filling of storage tanks also played a role. He said the outlook for filling gas stocks next year was favourable.

Cyrani said the declining electricity and gas prices on the energy market will be reflected in prices for consumers gradually. He recalled the offer of fixed products, and for customers with open-ended contracts, lower prices will probably be reflected next year.

Electricity and gas prices below the government's ceiling are also gradually being reduced by other companies, some of them for non-committed clients.

CEZ Group's net profit rose to a record CZK 80.7 billion last year from CZK 9.9 billion the year before. The company said the significant increase reflects the huge price increases due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, record profits from commodity trading on foreign markets and the high operational reliability of CEZ's power plants. Operating income was up 27 percent year-on-year, reaching CZK 288.5 billion.

CEZ's majority shareholder is the state, which holds about 70 percent of the company's shares through the Ministry of Finance.

Source: CEZ and CTK