CZECH REPUBLIC: The European Commission has approved under EU state aid rules a scheme to promote the use of electric transport as a greener alternative to diesel vehicles, and to support a shift of freight and passenger traffic from road to rail.
Under the €180m scheme running to the end of 2026, operators of electric train, tram, trolleybus and cable car services will be exempted from the renewable energy sources fee which is included in Czech electricity bills to finance renewable energy generation.
The Commission found that the scheme was in line with its environmental objectives and allowable under state aid rules.
‘The €180m scheme will allow the Czech Republic to support electric traction, which is a more environmental-friendly mode of rail and urban transport compared to diesel-fuelled vehicles’, explained Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President in charge of competition policy, on November 10.
’It will help meet the European Green Deal objectives, while reducing the burden of rising electricity costs for transport operators, passengers and freight customers.’
