The Czech Energy Association’s Executive Director, Josef Kotrba, believes the energy transition demands collaboration rather than competition among the electricity, gas, and heating sectors, so they can function as parts of a unified system. He discusses gas and cogeneration’s contribution to renewable energy growth, viable district heating solutions, and the association’s advocacy for capacity mechanisms as essential prerequisites for developing reliable energy sources.
Why was the Czech Energy Association established?
The main reason was realising that you cannot transform the energy sector without better cooperation between different parts of the industry. Gas will become increasingly crucial for both power generation and heating. Highly efficient combined power and heat production can make substantial contributions to maintaining stable electricity provision. The increasing proportion of renewable energy sources elevates system flexibility requirements, which will be met primarily through gas-fired and cogeneration facilities, complemented by battery storage and decentralised approaches. While these sectors have traditionally competed, they must now operate as mutually supportive systems, with the association facilitating this transition.
In your opinion, which legislative or regulatory changes will now determine the pace of energy transformation, and what is currently holding back investors?
Last year, new support for the combined power and heat production was launched. The key task for this year is to implement capacity mechanisms that will enable the construction of new sources. Ideally, these should be sources capable of supplying energy on a long-term, stable basis. The Ministry of Industry and Trade is currently working on the design and notification of this mechanism, and our association is also actively involved in this process. We consider the ambition to notify, announce, and evaluate the auction before the end of this year to be a very positive signal.
District heating often sparks debates over choosing between gas, biomass, and waste. What would be a practical fuel composition for district heating networks in the 2030–2035 timeframe?
In the future, it will inevitably be a combination of these sources. Biomass is a sustainable solution, but its availability may be limited. Energy recovery from waste is particularly relevant in larger settlements. Gas has the advantage of versatility. It can serve both large and small sources, is readily available, and its supply has been sufficiently diversified in recent years. At the same time, it can be made greener in the future by blending in biomethane.
Energy efficiency in buildings and industry cannot be achieved without smart management, flexibility and faster network modernisation. Where should the state look for the greatest return on public funds?
You usually get the best results by combining energy-saving measures with switching to a different fuel type and using smart controls. For bigger users and heat plants, it makes sense to use electricity when prices are low and switch to gas when winter demand surges. Moving from standard heating to cogeneration and multiple heat sources requires more sophisticated control, including production optimisation and strategic electricity trading. It is trickier than just supporting straightforward solutions, but the payoff is definitely there.
The security and resilience of energy infrastructure are currently being addressed. Where are the grey areas of competence between the state, operators and regulators?
Confusion over responsibilities happens mostly where government security policy, regulations, and what operators must invest in overlap. The real question is who should pay for public interest initiatives. While operators and investors are willing to shoulder their portion of these expenses, policymakers and regulators must recognise that these companies are already financing massive energy transition investments.
