2022
Household-specific Energy Inflation in the Czech Republic
Filip Mandys
The results presented in this policy brief originate from an analysis of the data provided in the Household Budget Survey of the Czech Statistical Office (CZSO), the CZSO index of energy prices, CZSO fuel price information and Eurostat. The results suggest that the average Czech household faced a considerable energy price increase of 45.2% between June 2021 and June 2022. All socio-economic groups faced simi¬larly high energy inflation rates, with group-specific inflation rates ranging from 43.8% to 46.3%. Self-employed persons and single-parent households were found to face the largest percentage increases in energy prices. Households in the smallest municipalities category (<2000 persons) experienced one of the highest losses in disposable income, i.e. CZK 30 704 per household. In addition, the lowest income households category was also one of the most seriously affected. Pensioners and single-parent households lost relatively less disposable income due to energy inflation than the other socio-economic groups; however, due to their low overall wealth and incomes, they are likely to have been more affected by this loss than the other groups. In the short term, the government should aim to inspire a behavioural change in all house¬holds by means of educational and awareness inducing campaigns that act to reduce energy use and to improve efficiency. In the medium and long terms, the government should focus on structural changes and the provision of incentives to improve household energy efficiency, thus reducing the degree of sensitivity to future energy inflation shocks.
