OTE, a.s., the Czech electricity and gas market operator, announces in accordance with Section 118(5) of the Public Notice No. 349/2015 Coll., on the Gas Market Rules, that it is suspending the activity of a company Czech Energy s.r.o., ID 27264491, EIC 27XCZECH-ENERGYM, in CS OTE system due to the loss of its possibility to supply gas, based on a notification of this company received by the market operator on 5th January 2022 at 9:40.

In line with the Market Rules, a fast change of supplier will be possible from 6.1.2022 08:00 to 8.1.2022 08:00. Delivery of gas from the Supplier of Last Resort (or any other supplier following the fast change of supplier) will start from 9.1.2022 06:00. Delivery from the Supplier of Last Resort doesn’t apply to customers whose gas consumption during the last 12 months exceeded 630 MWh.

The Supplier of Last Resort (SLR) serves as a way to protect customers in case of any supplier’s failure to operate. An SLR steps in immediately after such an incident and customers can use the SLR as an interim supplier for a maximum of 6 months. During this time the customer should

select a new proper supplier and switch to it without any restrictions. Even if a customer had a fixed-term contract with the original supplier, this will not be valid with the SLR.

The Market Operator is following the national legislation in force, with the aim to minimize the negative impact of such events on the gas market.