The Czech Republic’s electricity trade balance will soon begin to shift. The country’s dependence on electricity imports is expected to peak around 2035, when imports will cover about one-fifth of its consumption. This is because it lacks sufficient alternative sources to adequately bridge the gap between the decommissioning of coal-fired power plants and the commissioning of new nuclear reactors. Only after their completion should dependence on imports begin to decline.

The Slovaks are ahead of the Czechs in terms of electricity generation sources. While Slovakia became a net importer of electricity sometime around 2006, a significant turnaround occurred in 2023, and since then, the Slovaks have been generating more electricity than they consume.

This is due to the commissioning of new nuclear units at the Mochovce power plant. At the same time, the operating life of previously built units there is being extended, and the same is happening at Jaslovské Bohunice. Slovakia is thus becoming a nuclear powerhouse, with its reactors accounting for just under two-thirds of electricity production and fossil fuels accounting for less than 15 percent. Moreover, if we include hydroelectric and other renewable sources, they account for a respectable quarter of total electricity production.

And the Czech Republic? It was once a coal “powerhouse,” after which nuclear power was supposed to replace fossil fuels. Subsequently, the Czech Republic was supposed to become a photovoltaic powerhouse, but it has not even come close to that goal. For at least the next ten years, therefore, the Czech Republic will not be a powerhouse in the energy sector at all.

And it has no choice but to hope for a steady supply of surpluses from abroad. Perhaps even from Slovakia.