CR may submit national energy plan to EC by end of January

The Czech Republic has been allowed to submit its draft national energy and climate plan to the European Commission (EC) by the end of January instead of the original deadline of the end of 2018, Deputy Industry and Trade Minister Rene Nedela said after a meeting with representatives of the Confederation of Industry today.

The Confederation of Industry wants the plan to be based on analyses of impacts before the Czech Republic binds itself to fulfilling European goals in this area.

The Industry and Trade Ministry sent the draft plan to comment proceedings at the end of last year.

Ministry spokesman Milan Repka said today the ministry had already received several hundred comments.

"We have agreed that such a fundamental document, which will determine the direction of the energy sector for the next ten years at least and will require investments worth hundreds of billions of crowns, cannot be solved in comment proceedings within a short time. The material submitted by the ministry is a working draft, whose final form will be based on concrete analyses and consultations," the Confederation economic policy section head Bohuslav Cizek said.

"The European Commission has told us that it will not be any problem if the document is sent by the end of January. We have informed the Commission that we have launched public consultations. The Czech Republic has actually published he draft plan on the server Euractive, so the Commission has received it. It has not received officially via the Permanent Representation though," Cizek said.

The national plan required by the European Union covers areas such as energy efficiency and the development of renewable energy sources. It is supposed to include Czech commitments involving the EU 2030 targets.

One of the plan's goals is for renewables to account for 20.8 percent of energy consumption.

However, environmentalists think that the share should approach 24 percent, saying the plan does not correspond to the potential renewable energy output which is 22-28 percent of the 2030 expected energy consumption, excluding advanced biofuels and new transport technology.

Renewables accounted for 14.76 percent of the Czech Republic's final energy consumption in 2017, according to Eurostat, the Industry and Trade Ministry said in October. In 2010, the share was 10.52 percent.

Source: CTK