Gas prices for households will increase in summer by 6,92 %
Week in Slovakia
ÚRSO approved the price proposal of SPP, gas prices will increase
Natural gas prices for households will increase in summer. As the chief of the Regulatory Office Jozef Holjenčík informed, gas for households will be more expensive since 20th July by an average of 6,92 %. The Regulatory Office also approved an increase in the prices for gas used for heat production by 9,37 %. This could result in an increase of 6 % in the price for heat for households.
Households that use natural gas only for cooking (category D1) will have to pay 1,9 Euro more a year. Those that use it also for water heating (category D2) will have to count with 34 Euro more per year. Households that also use natural gas for heating (category D3) will pay 77 Euro more.
Alternative suppliers: We are analysing the situation
„We are analysing the situation and we will give a statement after we decide on what will our next steps be. Currently we can say that our price offers will reflect the situation on world markets.,” said Miroslav Kulla from RWE Gas Slovensko. He also added that his company will continue to guarantee its customers a specific agreed percentage savings, even if the prices go up.
Energia.sk also questioned another alternative supplier, ČEZ Slovensko. „Our reaction on the approval of higher prices of gas by ÚRSO for SPP has to be internally discussed. We will give our statement in the next few days,” informed Igor Nagy. When ČEZ Slovensko entered the market, they declared that their price will reflect the price list of the traditional supplier, which is SPP.
Holjenčík: We did not identify with SPP
Sloveský plynárenský priemysel, a.s (SPP) was demanding a price increase for households starting off in July by almost 8 %. „The Regulatory Office based on its own analyses and calculations did not identify with the demands and proposals of SPP,” stated Holjenčík. According to him, if the Office would had agreed with SPP´s proposals on increasing the price, households would have to pay between 8 to 340 Euro more every year.
Gas prices should not increase in autumn
SPP also demanded another wave of price rise for households in autumn, according to Holjenčík by more than 30 %. The Regulatory Office did not approve this proposal. „We do not expect any more price increasing in this period,” stated Holjenčík.
SPP: The price is increasing due to price of oil products
SPP requested an increase in the prices mainly because of the higher prices of oil products on world market. „The current price of oil is 40 % higher than was expected by the regulator when he set the prices for gas this year. This is such an extraordinary development that SPP had to react,” explained a month ago SPP spokesman Ondrej Šebesta.
The last time the price went up for households was at the beginning of this year. The price rose by 4,47 %. The Regulatory Office also decided at the end of last year that the average price of gas used for heat generation will go up by 6,12 %.
Monday – 13th June 2011
Revenues of the Regulatory Office for Network Industries (ÚRSO) reached 340 thousand Euro last year. Most of the incomes were fines paid by regulated subjects. The costs of ÚRSO were on the other hand 2,7 million Euro, which is 620 thousand less than in 2009. During the year ÚRSO carried out 111 controls and issued 191 fines and ordered the regulated subjects to implement 120 measures; 72 in the heating sector, 31 in electricity field, 14 for the hydroenergy sector and two in the gas sector.
Without a long term contract with Gazprom, the alternative supplier of gas in Slovakia, ČEZ Slovensko would have the courage to supply even almost 50 % of the households. The statement was given to energia.sk by Igor Nagy, director of ČEZ Slovensko. „The availability of natural gas on stock and non-stock OTC market is such big that if we would gain a 50 % share on the household market in Slovakia, we would still be able to buy gas in this sector,” explained Nagy.
Slovakia should focus on obtaining energy from nuclear energy now and also in the future according to State Secretary at the Ministry of Economy, Kristián Takáč. As Takáč stated in an interview for energia.sk, nuclear energy is a better alternative than natural gas, even if we are talking about security. Takáč also expressed his slight worries about the European commissioner for energy Oettinger and his uncritical favouring of the natural gas sector. Although it might be true that Slovakia could buy cheaper gas, this topic should be a question of a wider philosophic debate.
Tuesday – 14th June 2011
The Nuclear and Decommissioning Company (JAVYS) will pay out dividends worth 14,5 million Euro for last year. This year, according to the state budget, the company should only contribute to the budget with dividends worth 6,6 million Euro. JAVYS as a company is owned by the Ministry of Economy. The reason for the lower numbers is according to the Ministry the fact that the volume of nuclear energy related services is decreasing.
Wednesday – 15th June 2011
Hungarian Minister of regional development Tamás Fellegi informed that the state electricity company Magyar Villamos Muvek Zrt. (MVM) should enter the natural gas market and plans to construct a gas pipeline connecting Slovakia and Hungary. All the necessary documents were proposed to the European Union already.
The Regulatory Council that works under the Regulatory Office for Network Industries again proposed the government two names for the positions of chairman and vice-chairman of ÚRSO. As the spokesman of ÚRSO Miroslav Lupták informed, according to the proposal Milan Hargaš should be the new chairman and Dušan Bernáth vice-chairman.
As the company SPP handed in all the missing documents for the natural gas price negotiations with ÚRSO, the talks will further continue and the results will be delivered at the end of this week.
Revenues of the heating company Tepláreň Košice reached 525,4 thousand Euro. The company will still have to pay out dividends to its only shareholder, the National Property Fund, the sum being 412,8 thousand Euro. Compared to 2009, the company earned 18 % less. The heating company generated more than million megawatt hours of heat and sold 970 thousand MWH of heat, which is almost the same level as in 2009.
Thursday – 16th June 2011
A private investor put into operation the first station far biogas production in Rozhanovce near Košice. The investment costs reached 3 million Euro and the total installed capacity of the station is 1 MW. The station generates biogas by fermenting silage from corn and animal excrements. The volume of electricity it can generate in a year can cover the demand of 3.700 households.
The operator of the distribution network in the western part of Slovakia, Západoslovenská energetika faces an allegation of misusing its dominant position on the market. According to an alternative electricity suppliers, Slovakia Energy, ZSE charge inappropriately high fees for carrying out above standard metering of the electro-metres register. Slovakia Energy thus sent a complaint to the Anti-monopoly Office of Slovakia (PMÚ). PMÚ is now investigating whether the allegations are true.
Friday – 17th June 2011
Net profit of the Slovak Electricity Transmission System (SEPS) in 2010 reached 31,2 million Euro, which is 170 % more than in 2009. The main reason for such an increase was the economic and financial crisis in 2009 that also hit the energy sector.
Leader of the party SMER-SD Robert Fico thinks that the Regulatory Office protected people from „gluttony” of SPP. The fact that gas prices will increase by only 7 % is according to Fico an achievement of the Regulatory Office. Without and interference of ÚRSO, Fico believes that the prices could have gone up by even 40 %.
Slovenské elektrárne constructed solar power plants worth 5,2 million Euro in Mochovce and Vojany. The power plants are able to generate almost 1.000 MWh of electricity every year. In Mochovce the solar panel are placed near the nuclear power plant and in Vojany they are based on the ground of a heating power plant. The total number of panels in Vojany is more than 3.400. The project realisation started in 2009. The electricity generated in Mochovce is used for the purposes of SE, but in Vojany it is distributed into the network.
Slovakia and Ukraine will create an expert group for the questions related to natural gas and oil. The agreement was made by president Ivan Gašparovič and Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich.