Energy costs push Czech industry towards cutbacks

Layoffs and plant closures may be looming in the Czech chemical and ceramics industries as soaring energy prices squeeze companies. A study by consultancy EGU suggests that energy costs for Czech businesses rank among the highest in Europe. ANO deputy chairman and likely future minister of industry Karel Havlíček has pledged that the incoming government will step in. The first planned measure is to relieve companies and households of payments supporting renewable energy, shifting the burden to the state budget at a cost of 17 billion crowns a year. Havlíček also wants to bring down the regulated portion of electricity prices, which he says accounts for more than half of what consumers ultimately pay.