Prague residents will pay extra for water, electricity and gas next year. The public transport price remains the same
Some town halls will raise the price of housing in municipal apartments, while others, on the contrary, are not planning to do so. The amount of the price will not change for public transport fares, and it should not rise for waste collection either. This follows from the findings of ČTK.
The people of Prague will pay roughly 18.5 percent more for water and sewage than this year, which means an increase in the price per cubic meter by about 20 crowns to 128.13 CZK. According to Tomáš Mrázek, a spokesman for the Prague Waterworks and Kanalizace (PVK), the price will rise due to rising costs, which have mainly increased this year for energy, chemicals, construction work and materials. The average annual household consumption of drinking water per resident of Prague was 41.2 cubic meters.
Energetická společnost Pražská plynárenská already stated at the end of November that it will increase the prices of the Standard basic tariff from the beginning of next year, by an average of 11.2 percent. Customers will thus pay no more than the maximum price set by the government. Prices for other tariffs will not change. Pražská plynárenská is one of the largest domestic suppliers of energy, gas and electricity, supplying roughly 425,000 consumption points.
People also pay extra for electricity. Pražská energetika (PRE) will increase the price of electricity and gas supplies from January. The majority of customers will pay prices capped by the government, so compared to the current average household in Prague, they pay hundreds of crowns less per month. With more than 820,000 consumption points, the PRE Group is the third largest electricity supplier in the Czech Republic.
Since the beginning of December, the price of Pražská teplárenská has increased, raising the prices of heat for households by approximately 12 to 15 percent. She justified the increase in prices by higher costs, especially for fuel and emission allowances.
The town hall does not plan to increase rents in the municipality of Prague 2, 6, 8 or 9, among others. “The town hall did not raise rents even this year during the energy crisis, and thus continues to support and help its citizens,” said Prague 2 spokeswoman Andrea Zoulová. Other town halls also took into account people’s financial situations. “The management of Prague 8 understands the difficult current financial situation for citizens and has no plans at the moment regarding the amount of rents in municipal apartments,” said Prague 8 spokesman Martin Šalek. The spokesman for Prague 6, Jiří Hannich, added that the town hall would consider increasing the price in the event that the dramatic increase in costs continued in the following years.
On the contrary, an increase in rent, namely by 10 to 20 percent, can be expected in Prague 14. The town hall increased the rent there in 2019 and 2021, so any further growth will probably be gradual in the following years. The Prague 12 district is also considering increasing the prices of rental apartments.
On the contrary, public transport in Prague will not be more expensive, and passengers will still be able to buy an annual coupon for 3,650 crowns. The municipality last increased prices only for individual tickets in August 2021. Next year, the people of Prague will not pay more than this year, even for waste collection. The collection of mixed waste became more expensive in 2019, on the contrary, in some cases the collection of bio-waste became significantly cheaper.