It’s easy for us — mainly American, mainly studying in New York City — to come to Prague and practically drool at the exchange rate. Beer for $2, cappuccinos for $3, a nice dinner with tip for $12. It’s like heaven for every broke college student struggling to handle New York prices.
But it’s not as cheap for the people who actually live here. Czech workers get Czech salaries, not New York ones, and they’re experiencing more inflation than ever before. Coupled with this, they’re also going through an energy crisis; The July 2022 Household Energy Prices Index says Czechs are paying the highest electricity prices in Europe.
Ever since Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine, the Czech Republic (which, by the way, is a 17 hour drive away from the border between Russia and Ukraine) has been struggling to keep up with high natural gas costs. It’s gotten so tense here that multiple far-right protests have erupted over the prices.
To quell worries, the government put a cap on energy bills for individual households and small businesses. Once prices hit this cap, people won’t have to pay any more than that price — the government will cover the difference.
Prices are expected to reach almost $480 per month for households that heat with gas, in a country where the average monthly wage is $1,500. The cap should save Czech households around $240 per month.
Czechs are trying to cut down their energy bills. Marketa Vocaskova, a 28 year old assistant explained: “We have changed the light bulbs. Also we try to consume less gas.” But she can’t do anything more to lower the cost.
The energy crisis isn’t unique to the Czech Republic, though. All over Europe, governments are scrabbling away from Russian gas as their energy bills climb higher and higher. But the Czech Republic depends on Russian gas more than most, and as winter approaches, energy prices have doubled since 2020.
Russia’s war on Ukraine transformed the European energy market. František Marčík, an energy analyst for the Alliance for Energy Self-sufficiency, said that pre-war low gas prices “spoiled” Europeans and got them used to being “manipulated by Russia.” Now, they’re all paying the price, but it may just be the push Europe needed to diversify their energy market for good.
There’s plenty of projects already underway with this very aim, like in Denmark and in the Netherlands. Last year, 87% of the Czech Republic’s gas came from Russia, according to the Czech Statistical Office, so the country is trying to participate in these projects and take as many steps away from Russian gas as it can.
By Marčík’s projections, as long as Europe continues this “diversification of supplies of gas,” things should get back to normal within five years.
“Maybe I’m too optimistic,” Marčík said. “But it’s only a matter of how quickly European member states will be able to react on the situation,
As European countries continue to scrabble for solutions, prices continue to rise, and so does disdain for the government. The biggest protest so far was in Prague’s Wenceslas Square on Sept. 3. Over 70,000 Czechs attended.
The protest, organized by a group called “Czech Republic First” was officially an anti-government protest over energy prices. But it also took a nationalist stance: according to The Guardian, banners there read, “The best for Ukrainians and two jumpers for us.”
According to a survey published one week later by Czech data analytic company Kantar, 49% of Czechs want to negotiate with Russia for better gas prices. Political commentator Jiří Pehe says that number is slightly misleading, though, and doesn’t mean that many Czechs are pro-Russian or even anti-Ukrainian. For them, negotiations would mean a warmer winter and lower energy bills. He would much prefer for Czechs to stick out the cold, pricey winter instead of negotiating with Russia.
He says, “Ukrainians have to make bigger sacrifices than that. And so we have to — we have to simply help them by doing this.”
As students, we have to do the same thing. So put on those extra sweaters and remember to turn off your lights — the Czech government, and therefore the Czech people, will be paying the price if you forget.
By Annabel Burba