Hot spot on the Czech district heating

Takeaways from the Euroheat & Power Congress 2025 in Prague

The first week of June 2025, I had the honour of chairing the panel "Hot Spot on the Czech District Heating" at the Euroheat & Power Congress 2025—a vital conversation at a critical moment.

With over 40% of Czech citizens connected to district heating and cooling, the Czech Republic is a mature and essential market that plays a key role in electricity system balancing. Yet, it remains heavily reliant on fossil fuels, especially coal. With over 7,000 km of district heating pipelines, the transition to sustainable and renewable heat sources is not just urgent—it is inevitable.

The big questions we tackled:
⚡ How do we accelerate this transformation?
🔧 Is it technically and economically feasible?
👥 And how do we ensure both customer satisfaction and climate success?

We brought together a powerhouse panel of key stakeholders—policy architects, industry leaders, and academic voices:
💬 René Neděla, Ministry of Industry and Trade Rene Neděla
💬 Mirek Topolánek, Association for District Heating of the Czech Republic
💬 Miroslav Zajíček, Veolia Energie ČR Miroslav Zajíček
💬 Petr Klíma, ISOPLUS-EOP
💬 Michaela Valentová, Czech Technical University in PragueMichaela Valentová

🔚 Key takeaways & calls to action:

To the Government:
✅ Finalize approval of projects within the Modernization Fund
✅ Complete auctions for CHP operating support
✅ Swiftly implement ETS 2

To the Energy Regulatory Office:
⚡ Introduce electricity distribution tariff reform to reward flexibility
To Technology Suppliers:
🛠 Deliver reliably, on time, and at reasonable cost

And above all, we need:
💪 Brave investors
🏘 Deep collaboration with municipalities
🧭 Strategic foresight across all sectors

The decarbonisation of heat is no longer a vision—it’s a mission, and it's happening now!