The Czech Republic was one of the first countries which experienced massive protests over the issue of the energy crisis. Prague, the Czech capital, was shaken on Saturday, September 3, as 70.000 turned out at demonstrations called by organizers under the banner “Czech First.” Despite the signing of an amendment to the Energy Act two weeks later by the Czech five-party-coalition center-right government, which will allow them to set the maximum price for electricity and gas in response to the soaring energy prices, a similar demonstration was held for the second time in a month. On Wednesday, September 28, tens of thousands filled Prague’s iconic Wenceslas Square to demand more help from the government due to an energy crisis that has sent household bills skyrocketing.
The massive scale of these demonstrations involving people from all backgrounds and different political ideologies caught everyone by surprise, from the government and the opposition political parties to even the organizers. It was an inevitable sign of the Czech people’s concerns and struggles to deal with the rising energy costs and their anxiety over living standards in the following months.
Furthermore, worrisome indications came from extreme political figures and parties who organized and participated in these demonstrations to exploit the Czech citizens’ feelings and fears. A small group initially called the protest under the banner “Czech Republic First,” led by a fringe populist, Ladislav Vrabel, demanding the government’s immediate resignation. However, to capitalize on public resentment, the far-left communist party KSČM and the far-right SPD party intervened in the demonstrations.
The organizers’ demands focus on the Czech Republic abandoning its pro-Western orientation. They urged the Czech government to work toward balancing their relationship and sign gas contracts with Russia, blaming the energy crisis and inflation on EU sanctions against Russia. Other more radical demands included the cessation of all government support for Ukraine, as well as the Czech Republic’s exit from NATO.
“We must distinguish the organizers of the demonstrations (pro-Russian, populist, extremist, nationalist, and disinformation forces) and the crowd members. Most of the people there are not pro-Russian or anti-EU, they were protesting because they feel insecure about the future and abandoned by the government, but they don’t agree with any of the organizers’ anti-EU and pro-Russian demands,” said Otto Eibl, a political scientist at Brno’s Masaryk University.
But the feelings of the ordinary people who joined the demonstrations can be justified. Electricity costs in Prague were the second most expensive among all the EU capitals, according to the September 2022 Household Energy Prices Index. The average cost of electricity for Prague residents was 64.43 cents of euro per kilowatt-hour. The EU average was almost half of this price, at 36.27 cents.
The dependence on Russian gas is the principal topic of discussion regarding the present energy crisis in most of the EU countries. But for the Czech Republic, the problem became enormous considering that it is one of the most heavily affected countries, with 87% of the gas and almost 50% of oil imports in 2021 coming from Russia. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the EU imposed sanctions on Russia, the energy market turned upside down and compelled the Czech government to look for alternate methods of ensuring gas supply to reduce this dependence. In response to these sanctions, Russia is using energy warfare, threatening to leave Europe freezing in the winter by cutting all supplies, in a worst-case scenario that would cause severe disruption.
The Czech Republic has tried to diversify its gas sources and rely less on Russia. The nation has invested in a new platform for liquefied natural gas in the Netherlands. There is optimism that fuel from Belgium and Norway would help offset shortages from the East.
For further analysis of the challenges concerning the energy crisis in the Czech Republic, we reached out to Robert Teleky, a member of the Parliament, with the current government coalition and the Chairperson of the Subcommittee of Power Engineering of the Czech Republic, who was willing to answer our questions.
In terms of electricity, the Czech Republic is among the largest exporters in Europe and can produce large quantities at a low cost from various sources. While one could assume that electricity prices would be safe from gas supply shortages, this is not the case. The position of a country within the EU internal market has an impact on electricity prices. The cost of the most expensive energy source on any given day also affects these rates. As a result, the price of electricity is affected by the present gas shortages and soaring gas prices.
“The energy system in Europe is interconnected and, in my opinion, it functions well. The Czech Republic is self-sufficient in electricity production but imports gas and oil. While we must work together with Europe to face the issue of high electricity prices, the gas must be secured as a commodity separately,” said Teleky.
The Czech energy sector has been built mainly around two large nuclear plants and several smaller conventional coal power plants. As the country’s only domestic fossil fuel, coal has been and still is a crucial energy source in the Czech Republic for power generation. The country’s share of renewable energy sources (RES) was only 17.3% in 2020 compared to a 22.1% EU average. But while the government was preparing a phasing out of coal in the following years, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the energy crisis, as a result, put obstacles in these plans.
“The EU’s green deal for the energy transition in Europe relied mainly on gas from the Russian Federation during the transition period. There is a gas shortage due to the Russian aggression in Ukraine, which is one of the biggest reasons for the energy crisis. This year, the problem lies mainly in the limited use of nuclear and hydroelectric power plants. In the Czech Republic, RES are insufficient, and it is necessary to increase the pace of their development. It is also crucial to support stable sources of energy production, which in our country is mainly nuclear production,” said Teleky.
After the first demonstration on September 3, the government’s response to the soaring prices due to the current increase in energy costs was to introduce a price cap for electricity and gas in the form of an amendment to the Energy Act, which is responsible for regulating energy sub-sectors, as well as the rights and obligations of individuals. The Czech citizens will notice a decrease in their bills in November because of the price cap, according to the statements of the Czech Prime Minister, Petr Fiala.
“The Czech government has proposed several amendments to the Energy Act to help deal with the energy crisis. The first measure introduced the creation of gas storage facilities intending to strengthen the security and self-sufficiency of the Czech Republic. The second amendment allowed us to use coal and fuel oil in case of gas shortages. The next step was to cap electricity and gas prices and to help entrepreneurs and companies through subsidy programs. Another amendment in the pipeline concerns simplifying the authorization of renewable energy sources,” Teleky explained.
The protests in Prague signaled a troubled winter for the Czech Republic, with the predictions of even higher energy prices and the nightmare of an energy shortage scenario from a few analysts growing people’s insecurities. Although predicting the short-term development of the prices is extremely difficult because of the market’s volatility of Russian cuts or increases in gas flows, this year, gas storage in Europe is almost at 90%, limiting the possibility of energy shortages, according to Teleky.
However, there are several worries that radical groups could exploit the citizens’ economic anxieties and take further advantage of the energy crisis using populism rhetoric. The protests are expected to continue during October, with political instability threatening the Czech government. These anti-establishment groups will try to grow to the point they could significantly divide society and disrupt Czech democracy using people’s fear over living standards.
“We must not forget that all the people who are not represented in the parliament (nationalists, communists, etc.) are “on the market,” and a new political force or party can emerge and become quite strong, thanks to the support of disillusioned people. Negativity always works very well. So does anxiety or conflict. Members of the opposition (both parliamentary and non-parliamentary) will use every opportunity to take advantage of the current situation because they are in a comfortable position without any responsibility,” said Dr. Jan Charvat, an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at Prague’s Charles University, specializing in issues of political extremism.
“The demonstrations may intensify some new issues, but at this moment, I am not too worried because Czech democracy still seems healthy. It is up to the government to moderate the public debate and resolve the situation. It was important to put a cap on energy prices and show empathy for all those concerns. However, there is an even bigger challenge to solve – how to effectively counter the propaganda of these extreme political parties and groups. If the fight is too blatant, it would only deepen social divisions, and that’s something no one wants,” said Otto Eibl.
“It is up to our government to offer solutions and thus reassure citizens. I am convinced that in the end, the Czech Republic and Europe will be able to cope with the energy crisis,” concluded Teleky.