Czech Energy Sector Marks 100 Years of Transformation

The Czech Republic has come a long way in its energy sector over the past century. In 1918, only one-third of residents had access to electricity, and those who did consumed an average of just 100 kilowatt-hours per year.

This limited access to electricity was due in part to the main driver of electrification at the time being agriculture. As industrial enterprises began to emerge, they built their own power plants with local distribution networks. The growing appetite for electricity led to the construction of new generation sources.

The 1930s saw the beginning of hydropower on the Vltava River, which was first modified in the late 19th century. The Vltava Cascade now comprises nine waterworks spread along a stretch of over 250 km, generating electricity while also storing water and improving river flow.

Natural gas began to be used more intensively in Czechoslovakia only at the end of the 1960s, with the commissioning of the first international Brotherhood gas pipeline. The post-war economic recovery supported growth in electricity demand, and power plant capacity doubled in the 1950s.