News: Friday, January 10th, 2025

Overnight winds cause over 6,000 households to lose electricity

Strong overnight winds caused power outages for over 6,000 households across Czechia. While power is being gradually restored, there are no further disruptions. The primary cause of the outages was trees falling onto power lines, leading to damage.

The worst disruption in the ČEZ Distribution network occurred on Thursday, just before midnight, when 32,000 consumers were without power, primarily in the Central Bohemian, Ústí nad Labem, and Hradec Králové regions. The outages were repaired overnight, but around 3,100 households were still without power by morning. The company also reported over 700 outages in the Olomouc region, with hundreds more in the Ústí nad Labem, Zlín, Pardubice, and Central Bohemian regions.

Plan to manage excess energy in Czech households

Czechia plans to establish facilities for managing excess energy. Over the past year, distributors have noted a substantial increase in requests for connections to their distribution networks. This surge is attributed to the rise in "negative electricity prices" in the market. Last year, producers experienced a total of 314 hours during which electricity prices dipped into negative territory—an increase of 180 hours compared to the previous year.

Negative electricity prices occur when electricity production exceeds demand, typically during periods of high output from renewable resources. In such situations, halting production is not feasible and could be detrimental to producers.

Czech donors sent over 900.000 CZK for a solar power plant at Ukrainian hospital

Last year, donors from Czechia contributed over CZK 900,000 to construct a solar power plant for the children's hospital in Zaporizhzhia, located in southeastern Ukraine, between May and December. Combined with funding from the partnering Ukrainian organization Ecoclub, this amount is sufficient to establish the power plant, which will help mitigate power outages caused by Russian aggression.

The Brno-based non-profit organization Nesehnutí announced the results of the Sun for Ukraine fundraising campaign in a press release. Previously, along with Ecoclub, they raised funds for power plants for hospitals in Sumy and Zhytomyr, as well as for a center for war veterans in Lviv.

The children's hospital in Zaporizhzhia is situated just a few dozen kilometers from the war front. It provides specialized medical services, including dialysis for both children and adults, and serves over 100,000 patients annually. Currently, more than 150,000 individuals displaced by the war, who remain in Zaporizhzhia, also rely on its services. Additionally, the facility cares for over 200 newborns each year, including those born prematurely.

Archaeologists discover remains of a historic Jesuit brewery in Rymice

Archaeologists from the Kroměříž Region Museum have uncovered the remains of a 17th and 18th century Jesuit brewery during the renovation of a Baroque granary in Rymice, located in the Kroměříž Region. Part of the brewery's masonry was preserved beneath the clay floor of the cellar, which has now been exposed. This structure likely formed part of the technical equipment of the malt house, used for drying barley.

Some of the bricks in the exposed walls are charred. The masonry reveals various vents and early indications of vaulting. The remains of the brewery have been uncovered in about half of one of the granary cellars. In the coming days, workers will refill the area.

Heavy snow expected in mountains across north and northeast

Heavy snowfall is expected in the mountainous regions of the north and northeast of the country from Friday through Sunday. Meteorologists predict the most snow will accumulate in the Jizera Mountains, with 35 to 50 centimeters, and in other mountain ranges from the Krkonoše to the Beskydy Mountains, where 15 to 35 centimeters are expected.

Due to the combination of snowfall and wind, snowdrifts will begin forming today in the Jizera Mountains and Krkonoše. A similar situation is expected from Saturday in the Orlické, Jeseníky, and the Beskydy Mountains on Sunday.

Czech Press Photo winners announced

AP photographer Petr David Josek won the top prize at the Czech Press Photo 2024 competition for his image of an athlete running hurdles at the Paris Summer Olympics. Captured from a unique perspective on the finishing straight, the photo is part of Josek’s Olympics sports series.

The 30th edition of the competition saw a record 256 authors submitting over 4,500 entries. CTK agency photographers Roman Vondrouš and Ondřej Deml also earned recognition, winning in the Arts and Culture and People to Talk About categories, respectively.

The winners were announced at the National Museum in Prague, where the Czech Press Photo exhibition opened on Friday and will run until April 23.

Annual bird census gets underway

The sixth annual national bird census, inviting Czechs to document all birds visiting feeders near their homes for exactly one hour, got underway on Friday and will conclude on Sunday.

Organized by the Czech Ornithological Society, the event aims to gather data on bird species present during the winter months.

Last year, around 35,000 participants observed over 792,000 birds. The most commonly sighted species included the great tit, Eurasian blue tit, tree sparrow, house sparrow, common blackbird, and Eurasian collared dove.

Weather forecast

Saturday will be cloudy with isolated snow showers. In the north and northeast, expect permanent snow. Day temperatures will range between -5 °C in the mountains and +3 °C in south Moravia.