01 Aug 2022, 16:53 PM

Court Stops Mokrice Hydropower Plant Project

STA, 29 July 2022 - The Administrative Court decreed that the planned Mokrice hydropower station on the river Sava cannot get a building permit until it has ruled on legal action brought against the project by the Slovenian Native Fish Society.

Announcing the decision on Friday, the society said it was important because it blocked the investors' plan to obtain a partial building permit from the Ministry and Spatial Planning and start with the plant's construction despite their legal challenge.

Mokrice, located near the border with Croatia, is the last hydro plant to be built on the lower Sava, four having already been completed as part of a project started 16 years ago. Under initial plans the Mokrice plant was slated for completion as early as 2018.

The investors - state-owned companies HESS, Infra and ELES - can appeal against the court's decision but the society says the Administrative Court has warned them that "hard to repair damage" to nature that could be caused by such a project can only be prevented so that the ministry does not issue a building permit until the court's final ruling, while it can continue with the administrative procedure to issue such a permit.

In its decision the court refers to case law, that is the rulings already reached by the Administrative Court and Supreme Court in the Mokrice plant case.

This is the second time that the Slovenian Native Fish Society is challenging the project after the former government decided that the public interest of producing renewable energy overrides the public interest of nature conservation in the Mokrice hydro power project.

This was after the Administrative Court in late 2021 overturned the ministry's original decision of December 2020 on the grounds that the environmental impact assessment procedure must be completed before the public interest procedure may by initiated.

The Janez Janša government took the decision on 20 May this year, after it has already been voted out in the election, which the society finds is problematic even from the aspect that the government was by then relegated to its caretaker role when it should have no longer taken such decisions.

They say the decision does not include "many of the expert bases and basic ichthyological studies, the lack of which had already been pointed out in the Administrative Court's previous ruling".

The society finds it unacceptable that a free flowing river should be ruined to produce electricity, arguing that in optimal conditions the plant would generate electricity equalling only 1% of the country's annual consumption.

They also are disappointed because the Robert Golob government has backed the project as well.

An appeal to annul the previous government's decision was also made by the Youth for Climate Justice earlier this month but incumbent Environment Minister Uroš Brežan said the project was a step in the right direction in view of climate neutrality goals and it also considered nature conservation.

01 Aug 2022, 13:49 PM

Demand & Prices for Pellets & Heat Pumps Surges

STA, 1 August 2022 - Amid the energy crisis, the prices of wood pellets and heat pumps in Slovenia have surged. As demand for pellets rose by about 35%, the price almost doubled and the supply has become a problem.

The Škofja Loka-based wood pellets producer Energija Narave told the STA the price of pellets went up by as much as 95% due to the rise in the price of raw material and costlier production. Currently, a pallet of mixed pellets produced by the company costs EUR 530 and a pallet of spruce pellets EUR 544.

The company said that just like last year, all the pellets produced this year would be sold.

What is more, the demand exceeds supply in Slovenia at the moment. According to Energija Narave, all Slovenian companies would cover about a third of domestic demand if they did not export. But all of them export.

"There is very little import this year," the company said, pointing to Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, which banned exports due to lower purchasing power of their population. Meanwhile, countries north and west of Slovenia can sell pellets at a better price at home.

"We believe the Russian-Ukrainian war does not directly affect the Slovenian market, but it has a massive impact on the European market as Ukraine alone produces more than a third of this source of energy for the European market."

Energija Narave was forced to stop accepting orders at the end of June because its production capacities could not cope.

Energy company Elektro Maribor Energija Plus told the STA the demand for heat pumps had also been on the rise due to fear of price hikes and disruptions in the supply of heating oil and gas. This along with general price hikes has pushed the prices slightly up, the company said.

But it noted that the state was still offering subsidies for the purchase of heat pumps.

Elektro Maribor Energija Plus has been seeing a rise in demand for heat pumps since last October, but currently the situation is "crazy". The company decided that as it starts accepting orders again it will give priority to its regular customers.

The Statistics Office told the STA that the prices of heat pumps had indeed been quite stable, while the prices of pellets reflected the prices of hard fuels, which have gone up by 49.2% in the past year.

The government reduced value added tax (VAT) on energy products for all users last week to mitigate the effects of price hikes, but it has limited options for wood biomass, where it cannot regulate prices.

29 Jul 2022, 11:12 AM

VAT Cut On Energy Products For All Users From 1 September

STA, 28 July 2022 - The government decided to reduce value added tax (VAT) on energy products for all users at Thursday's session, Finance Minister Klemen Boštjančič told a press conference. The reduced tax rate of 9.5% will apply for the heating season, from 1 September to 31 May next year.

The government proposes to reduce VAT on supplies of electricity, natural gas, firewood and district heating. These are being proposed in a bill on emergency VAT measure to mitigate rising energy prices, which is being put forward to parliament to be passed in emergency procedure.

"By temporarily reducing the VAT rate from 22% to 9.5%, the government is addressing the impact of energy price increases during the peak energy consumption period, the heating season. The lower rate applies to all consumers of these energy products, both households and commercial," the Government Communication Office said in a press release.

The lower VAT on electricity and natural gas adds to the measures already taken to regulate the prices of these energy products, but when it comes to firewood and district heating, the reduced VAT rate is the first such measure the government is taking to mitigate price hikes, Boštjančič said.

VAT reductions cannot be applied to heating oil due to a European directive, and the government has limited options for wood biomass, where it cannot regulate prices. "We hope that the reduction in this area will not translate into higher margins of traders," he noted.

In the next steps, the government will also address the regulation of heating oil and district heating prices.

The lower VAT will result in a roughly EUR 130 million shortfall in the state budget, some EUR 40 million less this year and EUR 90 million less next year. The positive impact on households is expected to be between a few hundred euros and more than a thousand euros during the heating season, according to the minister.

He also announced that the government is "very likely" to prepare a supplementary budget for this year. "It is no secret that both the expenditure and revenue sides will be quite different from those in the adopted budget," he said.

Changes to the existing budget will be prepared while adopting the 2023 and 2024 budgets, and discussions on these will start after 20 August.

27 Jul 2022, 07:49 AM

No Gas Rationing for Slovenian Households This Winter, Even Without Russian Supplies

STA, 26 July 2022 - Infrastructure Minister Bojan Kumer said there would be no rationing in the supply of natural gas to households in Slovenia this winter, as he attended a meeting of EU ministers in charge of energy in Brussels on Tuesday that agreed on rationing in gas consumption.

Many things would have to go wrong for gas supply disruptions to occur, Kumer said, adding that "if the only thing that happens is Russia stopping the supply of gas, there would be no serious challenges for supply in Slovenia".

This is especially true if the regulation on the reduction of gas consumption by 15% by March 2023, which was agreed on today, achieved its purpose, the minister added.

According to him, EU member states have made a very clear commitment to do more on a voluntary basis and express solidarity. "This positive approach truly fills us all with optimism."

Kumer noted that for the natural gas supply in Slovenia to be disrupted, "a lot of things would have to go wrong", including supply interruptions, a really severe winter and disruptions in the supply from liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals.

Slovenia is very well connected with its neighbouring countries and, due to its small size, has a very low gas consumption compared to Italy, Croatia and Austria.

"This means that at least this protected segment, which accounts for approximately 20% of the annual consumption, can be quickly covered and supplied with other systems," the minister added.

This means that, according to Kumer, there is no fear there will be rationing in the supply of natural gas to households in the coming winter. "Absolutely not."

The EU ministers today confirmed the proposed European Commission regulation that sets a target of voluntary cut in gas consumption from 1 August to 31 March 2023 by 15% compared to the average gas consumption between August and March in the last five years.

There is also the possibility of mandatory cuts, where several exceptions are envisaged, including for island and Baltic countries, as well as for countries that are heavily dependent on gas for electricity production.

Kumer said that, when it comes to exceptions, it is crucial for Slovenia that these do not result in Slovenia becoming less competitive in terms of reducing gas consumption.

Slovenia could exercise exceptions for the supply of protected categories, such as households, healthcare and social institutions, he said, noting that there was also the exception related to the use of gas for electricity production.

Substituting natural gas with other fuel in the production of electricity could be one in a combination of various measures with which Slovenia could reduce gas consumption by 15%, Kumer said, adding that businesses could substitute natural gas with LPG.

It is precisely industry and businesses that account for over 70% of total natural gas consumption in Slovenia, so the government will advocate for industry and businesses to organise themselves and limit consumption on a voluntary basis, the minister said.

In addition, the government has already adopted recommendations for the public sector to introduce less intensive cooling in the summer and less intensive heating in the winter.

As for possible mandatory measures, Kumer said responses on a voluntary basis should be seen first, which will also be a topic of discussion on Thursday of the crisis task force headed by the minister.

"If all these measures on a voluntary basis fail to work, tougher measures will probably have to be taken," he said, adding that this would be made possible by the emergency legislation that was being drafted.

At the meeting, the minister commended the solidarity expressed by Italy, with which Slovenia signed an agreement on solidarity measures to ensure the reliability of gas supply.

Slovenia is in talks for similar agreement with Croatia and Austria. Croatia's Davor Filipović told his Slovenian counterpart that internal procedures had been accelerated and that he saw no obstacles for the agreement to be signed by the autumn.

Full support for speeding up the procedures to sign a relevant agreement with Austria has also been expressed by Minister of Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology Leonore Gewessler, the minister said.

22 Jul 2022, 11:24 AM

Krško Nuclear Plant Running at Full Power Despite Low Water Levels, High Temps

STA, 22 July 2022 - The country's sole nuclear power station NEK is operating at full power and in line with administrative restrictions despite the low water level of the Sava river and high air temperatures.

The cooling towers are operating at full capacity. The plant's efficiency is slightly lower, which is why good coordination of the water regime with the hydroelectric power plants on the lower Sava is important, NEK said.

The plant's output is 1.5% lower than normal these days, but NEK has been running continuously for 443 days since the last scheduled maintenance was completed in May last year, the power station told the STA.

NEK uses the water from the Sava for cooling or extraction of heat which cannot be used for electricity generation but is needed to cool the condenser. In this process, pumps push the water captured in the river through the condenser and return it to the Sava. The flow rate in the condenser is about 25 cubic metres per second.

As the resulting warming of the river water could affect the biological characteristics of the Sava, there are administrative restrictions as to how much the water temperature is allowed to rise and how much water can be used. The cooling towers are activated whenever environmental conditions require it.

In extremely adverse weather conditions, compliance with these restrictions requires a reduction in the power plant's output. However, in order to reduce the plant's dependence on the river, NEK's cooling tower system was modernised and expanded in 2008.

The cooling system of NEK's tertiary circuit was improved and four additional cooling cells built. Before this upgrade of the cooling tower system, NEK operated at reduced power for 93 days in 2003 due to environmental constraints related to the Sava river.

22 Jul 2022, 11:06 AM

Gas Prices Capped From 1 September

STA, 21 July 2022 - The government decided on Thursday to cap as of 1 September gas prices for households, small companies and basic social service providers. Excise duty remains halved, while VAT will be reduced from 22% to 9.5%. The government also tasked the country's main gas supplier to draft an action plan for complete suspension of Russian gas in three years.

The prices of gas for households will be capped at EUR 0.07300 per kW7/h excluding VAT, while the cap for small commercial users and social services providers will be set at EUR 0.07900 per kW/h excluding VAT.

The cap will be in place for a year, Infrastructure Minister Bojan Kumer told the press after the government session.

He explained that basic social service providers include hospitals, student dorms, retirement homes and prisons, while the small commercial users are defined as companies whose annual consumption does not exceed 100,000 kW/h.

Per year, average households buying gas from cheap providers will save about 10% or EUR 90-130, while those buying from expensive providers will see their annual bill decrease between EUR 170-675 or by between 13% and 37%, Kumer said, adding that additional energy aid payments would also be introduced for the poor.

Average social services providers buying gas from cheap suppliers will reduce their annual bill by up to EUR 1,390 or 11%. Those buying from suppliers with moderate prices will save up to EUR 8,710 a year or 44%, while those buying from the most expensive suppliers will save up to EUR 13,590 a year or 55%.

Small businesses buying from cheap suppliers will save EUR 205-313 a year or 10%, while those buying from expensive suppliers will save EUR 350-1,420 or between 11% and 34%.

As was the case with electricity, the government decided to extend the 50% reduction of gas excise duty. Moreover, the VAT reduction from 22% to 9.5% will not apply only to gas but also to electricity, Kumer said.

He added that the changes would be codified in emergency legislation that is to be drafted during the summer. Prime Minister Robert Golob said yesterday that this legislation would be presented to political party leaders at the end of August.

Kumer also said today that measures for big businesses would be drafted in the second half of August or the first half of September. These measures will be even more targetted than the ones presented so far, he said, adding the measures would be very specific, written "almost for individual cases".

"We will continue adopting measures so that all needed mechanisms will be in place in September to allow households and companies to worry less during autumn and winter," said Kumer.

The minister also said the government had tasked Plinovodi, Slovenia's main gas supplier, to draft an action plan together with gas import companies and the Infrastructure Ministry for complete suspension of Russian gas in the next three years.

The move comes after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen advised member state to reduce gas consumption by 15%.

The Energy Chamber commented on the Commission's appeal earlier today, saying the reduction was a responsibility of everybody. It also called for measures that would support a shift to greater dependence on electricity.

The chamber also said that a suspension of Russian gas supply would likely be harder for Slovenia than for countries of western Europe, with the business sector bearing the brunt of the burden. Last year, households used only 13% of imported gas, the chamber said.

14 Jul 2022, 15:56 PM

Slovenia Will Cap Electricity Prices For Households, Small Business in September

STA, 14 July 2022 - Electricity prices for households and small and medium-sized companies will be capped from 1 September to August 2023 under plans announced by the government on Thursday. Households will pay between 15% and 60% less for electricity than now, depending on provider, Infrastructure Minister Bojan Kumer told the press after the cabinet session.

Prices will be kept low through a combination of lower duties and measures that will reduce the profits of power generation companies, according to Kumer.

The excise fee on electricity will remain at 50% of the headline level, whereas the contribution for renewable sources will be cut in half come September.

Electricity prices for households and small business, including those in multi-apartment buildings, will be limited to EUR 0.118 per kWh at the higher tariff, EUR 0.082 kWh at the lower tariff and EUR 0.098 per kWh at the uniform tariff.

"These customers have so far been among the most affected groups of customers," the minister said, adding that the final cost of electricity on bills would be reduced for all household and small business customers, regardless of the supplier.

"It is a measure that directly addresses the increase in energy prices," the minister noted, estimating that savings for the average household customer would be between 15% and 30%, depending on how expensive their supplier is.

For customers of the suppliers with the highest price, the government measure means almost 60%, Kumer said.

In absolute terms, the regulation of electricity prices means EUR 110 to EUR 334 in savings in the annual cost of electricity for the average household customer or up to EUR 1,000 per year.

Kumer did not disclose exactly how prices will be kept low beyond saying that Slovenia was fortunate that electricity generation and distribution were in majority state ownership.

The government has been engaged in talks with stakeholders across the entire chain and they will "optimise costs" while eschewing some of the profits, he said.

Slovenian power generation companies have been able to sell electricity at market price driven by huge demand in the EU, whereas their underlying costs have changed little.

Kumer noted that this was the first package of measures dealing with electricity prices, which would surely be followed by another package. In the coming weeks, the government also plans to address the issue of high gas prices.

12 Jul 2022, 17:07 PM

Golob tells Scholz: No Russian Gas This Winter Will Be Difficult, But Possible

STA, 12 July 2022 - Prime Minister Robert Golob met German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin on Tuesday in what is his first bilateral visit abroad. After the meeting, Golob said the goal of getting through the winter without Russian gas is very ambitious but attainable if the EU works together.

The impact of the war in Ukraine, mainly the energy crisis, was one of the main topics of the meeting.

Golob noted there were synergies between EU member states that could be tapped into to get through this winter without Russian gas or any "imposed reduction" on gas supply provided there are adequate gas-saving schemes.

Together, the EU can get through this crisis and achieve this very challenging goal, he told a press conference after the meeting.

Scholz said that the EU will have to do its best to reduce its energy dependency on Russia, pointing to efforts to set up infrastructure that would enable oil and gas extraction from other sources in the short term.

Both Golob and Scholz think that political, military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine must continue as should sanctions against Russia.

The pair also discussed EU enlargement to the Western Balkans with both of them highlighting that countries in the region had been in the waiting room for EU membership for 20 years - too long.

Predsednik vlade ?? dr. Robert Golob: "Slovenija je za marsikoga v EU na nek način vstopna točka do Zahodnega Balkana. Ko smo podprli kandidaturo ?? in ?? za članstvo v EU, smo se takoj soočili z dilemo. Države Zahodnega Balkana so v čakalnici že 20 let in to je predolgo." pic.twitter.com/djJVYMPVf4
— Vlada Republike Slovenije (@vladaRS) July 12, 2022

Golob believes that ways need to be found for these countries to take individual steps and achieve success on their path to EU membership.

"Unfortunately, this process, the way it has been done, is a process that led to apathy in these countries because it is absolutely too slow," he warned.

In 2003, the six countries of the Western Balkans were promised a fast-paced and realistic EU perspective, but since then not much has happened, Scholz said, so Germany and Slovenia would like to work together to give fresh impetus to this accession process and to soon welcome the region's countries into the EU.

Asked about Slovenia's purchase of Boxer armoured vehicles that hangs in the air and may complicate Slovenia-Germany relations, Scholz said that he had briefly discussed this with Golob.

The Golob government may withdraw from the agreement, which was signed with the German supplier of Boxer carriers Artec, depending on the outcome of the review of the previous government's deal. Scholz acknowledged the purchase is currently under review, and called for making rapid progress together on this issue.

Golob said that he and Scholz had talked potential cooperation in supplying Ukraine with weapons, but they had not discussed the ongoing review of the Boxer deal.

"We do not expect this review to complicate relations in any way, also because we are exploring different options on how to get out of this situation in the event the review shows that this purchase is inappropriate for us," the prime minister said. There is not just one option, but several, and they will be presented to the public in the coming months, he added.

This was Golob's first bilateral visit abroad after he assumed office in early June. He told the press it was no coincidence that he visited Berlin first as Germany is Slovenia's key trading partner and has been its "most important friend and ally" ever since Slovenia gained independence.

There are no open issues between the two countries, said Golob, who was accompanied in Berlin by Infrastructure Minister Bojan Kumer.

Scholz is confident that he and Golob will work well together, especially in light of challenging issues that face the EU and can only be tackled together, on both bilateral and EU levels.

12 Jul 2022, 11:05 AM

Govt Starts Phase 1 of Gas Supply Emergency Plan

STA, 11 July 2022 - Slovenian gas consumers have been urged to use natural gas with care as a precautionary measure as the Energy Agency declared an early warning level on Monday to notify the public of potential disruption to supply in the future in case of reduced supplies of natural gas from Russia.

In a press release posted on its website, the agency says that gas supplies to Slovenia and supply to consumers are currently undisrupted.

The agency monitors gas supplies along the routes affecting the supply in Slovenia, including supplies via the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline.

The agency warns of potential future disruption in the event of lower gas flows from Russia. It does not know at this point whether or to what extent disruption would occur.

Commenting on the measure, Infrastructure Minister Bojan Kumer said it was but "an early-warning or awareness-raising phase", while gas supplies to Slovenia continued undisrupted.

"The security of natural gas supply is at the same level as last year, the supply is based on pre-agreed contracts and we don't expect any problems in the short term," he said.

Kumer noted that this early-warning phase had already been launched by roughly ten EU countries, including all of Slovenia's neighbours. "The idea is to get prepared for the heating season, that those who can - from industrial to commercial consumers - get ready on time for certain alternatives."

Geoplin, the gas wholesaler, said the agency's measure was "prompted by situation in European gas markets in connection to supplies from Russia".

The company has been facing reduced gas supplies from Russia with further reductions since maintenance started on Nord Stream 1, but has been offsetting losses of that gas with alternative purchases and use of storage facilities.

Geoplin would not say how much supplies from Russia have been reduced, but the newspaper Finance reported in mid-June that Slovenia received up to a quarter less gas. Due to low consumption in summer the supply has not been affected but the storage facilities that Slovenia leases in Austria and Croatia are not being replenished as quickly.

The company said supplies in Slovenia continued undisrupted. "Geoplin provides natural gas to customers in accordance with the volumes specified in the contracts, and will continue to do so in the future."

The Energy Agency today notified industrial gas consumers that if a higher level of crisis is declared, supply may be interrupted or they may be required to switch to alternative energy sources.

They were thus urged to monitor regularly the developments on the natural gas market and to consider alternative options that would contribute to reducing their consumption in case of disruptions.

The agency will notify the public and stakeholders on potential changes in the security of natural gas supply without delay.

Such notification is foreseen in the national act on the natural gas contingency plan, which entered into force in the summer of 2020. Following the model of such protocols in other EU member states, it foresees a three-step approach.

The first phase involves checking volumes, informing customers of possible supply disruptions and calling on industrial consumers to use gas more rationally.

Phase 2 would see suppliers call on their contract customers who are in a position to do so to voluntarily break off their gas supplies. Large customers would be urged to reduce their consumption to the minimum. Industrial consumers and electricity producers who have such an option would be recommended to switch to an alternative energy source.

In phase 3, which applies to emergency situations, suppliers break off the contracts that can be broken off and order industrial consumers and electricity producers to switch to an alternative energy source. At the same time, gas supplies are rationed.

Last year's total consumption of natural gas in Slovenia increased by 6% to 10,163 GWh in what was the highest total consumption since 2010, Energy Agency data shows.

The total consumption increased with all gas consumers. Households and non-households together used up more than 10% more gas. While households' consumption - which accounts for about a third of total consumption - was up by almost 12%, non-household users consumed over 9% more gas than in 2020.

07 Jul 2022, 16:31 PM

Petrol Will Increase Electricity, Gas Bills in September

STA, 7 July 2022 - Petrol, Slovenia's second largest electricity provider and fourth largest gas provider, will increase prices in September, following suit of the competition. Prices are expected to rise further next year.

The price of electricity at Petrol will be EUR 0.14145 per kWh in peak periods, EUR 0.08778 in off-peak periods with a flat rate of EUR 0.12804. The prices will be uniform for existing and new customers with loyalty club members eligible for a discount.

The average household will see their electricity bill go up by 13% or about eight euros per month.

Gas will set households back EUR 0.08779 per kWh, which is a 43% or EUR 24 per month increase for the average household.

Petrol is not the first provider to increase prices. Gen-I has already increased gas prices, raising the average household bill by a third and will raise electricity prices in August by 18% per average household.

ECE and Energija Plus have already increased prices, while E3 and Elektro Energija are doing so in July, increasing the average household's bill by a fifth or a quarter, respectively, according to calculations by the newspaper Večer.

According to the 2021 report from the Energy Agency, Gen-I held the largest market share among electricity providers at just under 21%, followed by Petrol at 15%, then ECE, Energija Plus and E3. Last year Petrol and E3 saw the largest market share growth, while ECE and Energija Plus saw the largest drop. At the start of this year Gen-I has purportedly gained the most after some smaller providers withdrew.

Even after the price increases Gen-I and Petrol remain the cheapest, followed by Elektro Energija, while ECE, E3 and Energija Plus are significantly more pricey.

Geoplin was the largest gas provider with a 43% market share, followed by Gen-I and Energetika Ljubljana with 12 and 11%, respectively. The fourth was Petrol, which along with Gen-I saw their market share grow the most after owners in apartment buildings are no longer considered commercial customers.

Petrol, Adriaplin and Gen-I were the most affordable providers, while Energetika Ljubljana, Plinarna Maribor and Energija Plus were the most expensive amongst the large providers. After the price increase Petrol will be somewhere in the middle.

Energy providers emphasise electricity prices on the stock market are almost six times higher than a year ago and the increase is even higher for gas.

Facing a difficult situation with no good prospects and a large demand, the providers expect prices to rise in the coming year to rates of the most expensive providers.

The government has announced measures to mitigate the energy crisis, but it remains unclear when the measures will be ready and who will take on the financial burden.

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