Síkela's big community-energy lie

Jozef Síkela boasted in MFD a day after he left office that the industry ministry under his guidance made record progress in promoting the development of cheap renewable energy, contributing to an increase of more than 100,000 in the number of photovoltaic installations. The cornerstone of this, he said, is community-energy sharing, and it has already attracted around 10,000 applicants since Aug. Today, however, Hospodářské noviny put down in black and white what energy experts have known all along. As the number of people producing solar power and sending it through their building or the grid increases, the power companies that provide electricity when the sun doesn't shine will start charging these community-energy users higher rates to compensate for the fluctuations. And of course the demands on the grid itself will rise, leading to extra investment requirements and distribution costs. In this sense, Síkela is leaving for Brussels at just the right time. A responsible minister would at least leave behind in a drawer an honest estimate of just how much this "cheap renewable energy" is actually going to cost everyone.