Week in Slovakia Case: Electricity prices in Slovakia Slovakia has one of the highest electricity prices for companies in the whole EU. The final price besides other also includes support for mining and private investors in the field of renewable energy sources and combined heat and electricity generation. „Electricity consumers club together 322 million Euro for some of the electricity producers and support for domestic coal in 2011,” calculated the analytical unit at the Ministry of Finance. According to the Institute of financial policy (IFP), without these subsidies the price could have fallen this year. The tariff for operating the system is decisive in the end price The fastest growing part of the regulated fees, which is also responsible for increasing electricity prices for households in Slovakia during this year, is the so called system operation tariff (TPS). It stands for approximately 10,6 % of the end price for electricity. From an environmental point of view this tariff represents a paradox, warns the IFP. The fact it that all the consumers support not only renewable sources by paying the tariff, but also non-ecological coal. Annually the TPS has increased by 236 % from 6,3 Euro per Mwh last year to 14,85 Euro this year. According to analysts from the Ministry of Finance, the electricity prices for Slovak companies is in long term way above the average of all the EU countries. According to data information from Eurostat, during the first six months of 2010, the electricity price for a company with an average consumption was 26 % higher than in other member states and second highest just behind Cyprus Growing competitiveness could push the price down The end price for companies and households could be lowered and brought closer to the European average by the growing competition on the market (Zobraziť celý článok)