STA, 20 June 2022 - The prices of regular petrol and diesel will rise by nearly 20 cents a litre on Tuesday. Regular petrol will cost EUR 1.755 a litre, up from EUR 1.56, while diesel will cost EUR 1.848 a litre, compared to EUR 1.668 at the moment. The new prices will remain in place until 4 July, when they will be adjusted again.

Fuel prices in Slovenia have remained unchanged since May 11, when they were capped by the previous government amid rapidly growing energy prices.

Last week, the new government decided to reintroduce a system of margin regulation at service stations outside the motorway network, while completely liberalising the prices of fuel at pumps along motorways.

In response to the rising prices of fuel, the government also temporarily abolished several environmental taxes on fuel.

The expected price hike has resulted in a rush to petrol stations across the entire country, with many fuel retailers running out of fuel at the weekend and today.

STA, 20 June 2022 - As drivers are rushing to service stations in anticipation of a price hike on Tuesday, which resulted in some stations running out of fuel, Economy Minister Matjaž Han assured the public that there were sufficient reserves of fuel. This is not a major market disruption, but a logistical problem, he said, also announcing inspections.

Speaking to the press in Ljubljana on Monday, Han admitted that occasional shortages of fuel had occurred in some parts of the country over the weekend, and that this was also happening today.

The minister noted that distributors reported that sales had more than doubled, adding that nevertheless there should be no fears that Slovenia would run out of motor fuels, which was also being guaranteed by distributors.

According to Han, the problems are related to logistics, which is in part a normal occurrence ahead of announced changes in prices.

He, however, also noted that traffic had been heavy in Slovenia over the weekend due to holidays in the neighbouring countries, which had also slowed down the delivery of fuel to petrol stations.

The commodity reserves of petroleum are full, Han said, explaining that the state could release them only in the event of major market disruptions, which was currently not the case.

The minister noted that the state could not release commodity reserves to regulate prices of petroleum products, as the quantity of commodity reserves was required by the EU. "There are enough [reserves] for 90 days in case of any disturbances."

The ministry is closely monitoring the developments, and a meeting with distributors will be held today to clarify the situation.

What is more, market inspectors are on the ground to examine whether retailers comply with the current regulated price and to examine sales and stocks, and whether consumers are possibly being mislead, the minister said.

"If it turns out that there have been violations of law, our inspection services will take action," he said, adding that the first information will be available already this afternoon.

The demand for motor fuel has increased after the government last week adopted a decree that reintroduces regulation of prices of regular petrol and diesel outside of the motorway network for a year, and liberalises prices on the motorway network.

The decree that also suspended certain environmental duties that determine the final price of fuel ends the regulation that entered into force on 11 May and that set the price of regular petrol at EUR 1.56 and diesel at EUR 1.668 per litre.

"The price at petrol stations outside motorways will be set every 14 days under the model set out in the regulation," said Han, who expects that the prices on motorways will be similar to those in the neighbouring countries, despite the inevitable increases.

Considering the recent rise in petroleum and petroleum products and the still weak exchange rate for the euro, a significant rise in prices is expected on Tuesday despite the restrictions on margins and the abolition of certain excise duties.

The business newspaper Finance has calculated that the price of regular petrol in Slovenia will increase to EUR 1.74 and that of diesel to EUR 1.81 per litre. Han said that the official prices would be known around 5pm today.

Han also touched on aid to farmers and hauliers, saying that the precise measures to help hauliers have not yet been agreed, as the government was waiting for concrete proposals from the other side. Farmers are expected to be reimbursed for excise duties.

The minister announced that the government will reject all claims for damages due to price regulations filed by fuel retailers, noting that "we have no data or basis on which these claims have been filed."

"We will start talks with retailers today about how, if at all, the state will reimburse them retroactively," Han said.

The previous government had indicated it would reimburse the fuel trades for the loss of income from a period in the spring when prices were capped, but the previous economy minister had later said this would not entail automatic reimbursement.

STA, 19 June 2022 - Owners of motor vehicles are heading for Slovenian service stations en masse on Sunday as regular petrol and diesel prices are expected to rise considerably when a new pricing model kicks in on Tuesday. All three major fuels providers, Petrol, OMV and MOL, have experienced occasional shortages today.

Today's demand considerably exceeds the long-term daily average demand so individual service stations have had some minor shortages, fuel company Petrol told the STA.

In recent months, this has been the case primarily at the petrol stations where large fuel customers such as farmers fill up.

However, supply has already been increased to meet the demand, although increased traffic and occasional congestion on Slovenian roads, as well as time limits imposed on motorways for trucks carrying fuel delay deliveries.

Nevertheless, the largest fuel retailer said that they are well stocked so there is no fear of fuel shortages.

24ur.com news site meanwhile reported that their users from around the country have sent in information that diesel and petrol or both are not available at some Petrol and OMV Slovenija service stations, where signs have been put up saying "currently out of stock due to increased demand".

MOL Slovenija initially experienced no problems, but the situation has already deteriorated.

Demand is additionally driven by numerous tourists filling up as they are returning home from the seaside, especially from Croatia, which has higher fuel prices.

On Wednesday, the government decided to return on 21 June to a pricing model where fuel retailers' price margins at service stations outside motorways are regulated while prices of fuels sold along motorways will be fully liberalised.

The new regime, which Slovenia had until a few years ago before it gradually introduced full liberalisation, will be in place for a year.

The new regime brings to an end the regime the previous government introduced on 11 May that capped the retail price of regular petrol at EUR 1.560 a litre and diesel at EUR 1.668 for the entire country amid the increasing cost-of-living crisis. As a result, prices are currently much lower than in the country's neighbours, except Hungary.

STA, 16 June 2022 - Prime Minister Robert Golob has announced regulation of gas and electricity prices as possible additional measures to fight price hikes, adding that the government also intends to make public the prices of the basic food basket at individual retailers.

Speaking for the commercial POP TV and the public broadcaster TV Slovenija on Wednesday evening, Golob said that several measures were being planned when it came to the high electricity and gas prices.

He announced that legislation was in the works that would enable "regulation of electricity and gas prices also for households and all individual consumers, for example in multi-apartment buildings and the like."

Golob explained yesterday's government decision to regulate the prices of motor fuels outside the motorway network and re-liberalise them along the motorways for one year by saying that "consumers expect predictability and comparability with other countries."

"The system being introduced brings exactly this," the prime minister said, noting that EUR 150 million in claims from fuel retailers to be compensated for losses related to the government regulation had been filed in less than two months.

The prime minister said that such a model was unsustainable, and such retroactive claims are inappropriate, adding that the government would continue to negotiate with fuel retailers over this issue.

The largest Slovenian fuel retailer Petrol welcomed the announced abolition of full regulation of prices that has been in force since 11 May, and also from mid-March and the end of April.

The company said that the current model was disproportionate and unsustainable. "It only burdens retailers of petroleum products, who are forced to sell fuel below the purchase costs, every litre sold is a loss," it added.

The fuel retailer OMV Slovenija also commented on the damage claims, saying that it had not received any feedback from the relevant ministries so far. "We expect an invitation for a coordinating meeting from the government," the company added.

Golob also announced talks with food retailers. He noted that these had very different prices and margins, so the government would make it very clear where the prices of the basic food basket were low "and where they are obviously astronomical".

He noted that the government would not do negative advertising, but positive advertising for those who would demonstrate the lowest prices of the basic food basket and the lowest margins.

STA, 16 May 2022 - Slovenia met 53% of its energy needs with domestic energy sources last year, which makes an improvement of two percentage points compared with 2020, Statistics Office data shows. The country depended fully on imports for petroleum products.

Total amount of domestic energy sources last year was 3.3 million tonnes of oil equivalent (TOE), which is 9% less than in 2020.

The country's total primary energy supply was 6.4 million TOE, up by 0.2% from 2020.

Petroleum products represented 31% of the energy supplied, followed by nuclear energy (23%), renewable energy sources, including hydro energy (19%), coal (15%) and natural gas (12%).

STA, 7 May 2022 - GEN-I is joining the natural gas suppliers that have already increased prices over the last heating season, announcing a 1 July price hike for "old" clients after raising the price for households and small businesses that switched to GEN-I after 25 February already in winter.

The new price will be EUR 0.060 per kilowatt-hour VAT included, up from EUR 0.032, according to a price list posted on GEN-I's website on Friday. The price without the 22% VAT rate will be EUR 0,049.

This price has already been charged to clients that switched to GEN-I after 25 February, while the existing clients had been guaranteed the old price until the summer.

The clients who signed the contract with GEN-I before 25 February currently pay EUR 0.026 per kWh (VAT excluded), or EUR 0.032 with the tax.

The price will thus be by some 85% higher. But since it accounts for only around 40% of the final bill, bills for clients will be in fact by only around a third higher.

GEN-I said it was regularly monitoring the situation in Europe and the world that impacts the prices of energy products.

While the prices reached historic highs in the second half of 2021, the situation was expected to stabilise after the winter months. However, the war in Ukraine has exacerbated the situation, and therefore "we need to adapt and align our prices to the changes in the purchasing markets", the company said.

Some other suppliers increased natural gas prices for households and small businesses before, with the latest increases coming as of May.

Petrol initially announced new price hikes for April, but postponed them to May, when the heating season practically ends, to soften the blow to its clients.

Its new price is EUR 0.051 per kWh VAT included, up from EUR 0.037.

The government has recently extended for another three months - until the end of July - the regulation reducing excise duties on energy products, including electricity, motor fuels, heating oil and natural gas.

It has, however, decided against extending the cap on regular petrol and diesel, which pushed the retail prices to new highs on 1 May.

STA, 5 May 2022 - The Financial Administration will disburse one-off aid today to businesses and farmers who have experienced a more than 40% increase in fuel, heating, electricity and other energy costs this year.

The payments, EUR 51.56 million in total to 5,996 beneficiaries, were made on the basis of a bill passed in February as part of an energy relief package meant to mitigate the impact of high energy prices for households and business entities, including agriculture.

The bill stipulates that legal entities or individuals with a business registered in Slovenia by 1 December 2021 whose energy costs will increase by more than 40% in 2022 compared to 2021 are eligible for government aid.

The amount of the aid was capped at 60% of the damage suffered as a consequence of rising energy prices, while restrictions were also imposed on businesses according to their turnover and energy costs as a percentage of operating expenditure.

Beneficiaries had to submit all the necessary information by 15 April. The bill provided for EUR 70 million in aid for up to 40,500 beneficiaries.

The full relief package also included a EUR 106.5 million energy voucher scheme for households. Some 710,000 beneficiaries were eligible for EUR 150 energy vouchers, including recipients of income support and welfare, large families, pensioners with under EUR 1,000 in pensions, the disabled, and some other vulnerable groups.

STA, 3 May 2022 - Robert Golob, the presumptive prime minister-designate, has criticised the outgoing government's decision not to extend fuel price administration. Golob, who feels smart regulation would be in order in what he feels is presently a malfunctioning market, suspects a cartel agreement might be behind the very similar price increases in Slovenia.

The leader of the Freedom Movement told the press after coalition talks on Tuesday that by no longer capping the fuels prices, the government was in a way taking revenge for not being given another term by the voters. "This comes to show that all the pre-election carrots had strings attached to them."

While finding that smart regulation would now be the right decision to take, he pointed to the incredibly similar price increases among fuel retailers as price administration was lifted on 1 May.

He said his party's lawyers were taking a closer look at what he suspects could have been price fixing. "If this continues, the Freedom Movement will call on the competition watchdog to take action."

Responding to Golob's statements, Slovenia's largest fuel retailer Petrol said that it independently determined its pricing policy and was not coordinating it with other providers.

In the response for the STA, Petrol pointed to the findings of the Competition Protection Agency in its December report on a survey of the retail fuel market.

"It has established that the purchase price has the greatest impact on the retail price ... that prices after deregulation were not the same in all providers," the company said.

Petrol added that the regulator had also found that the system for announcing and changing prices in Slovenia through the goriva.si app enables providers to quickly adjust their prices.

Fuel prices in Slovenia surged on Sunday, with regular petrol going up by about 8% and diesel by more than 20%.

Data reported by petrol stations showed regular petrol cost between EUR 1,617 and EUR 1,619 per litre depending on provider, up to EUR 1,628 along motorways. Until Saturday, it was capped at EUR 1,503.

Diesel is priced at between EUR 1,817 and EUR 1,824 at major providers Petrol and OMV, and even higher at some smaller petrol stations, EUR 1,876, while it cost EUR 1,514 on Saturday.

Prices were capped in mid-March in a bid to mitigate the surging prices of energy on global markets. Last Friday, the government said the measure would not be extended since the markets had stabilised.

The reduced excise duties, which are part of measures to mitigate the impact of the energy price hike on the population and businesses, meanwhile remain in place until 31 July.

STA, 1 May 2022 - Fuel prices in Slovenia surged on Sunday after the government decided to end price administration. Regular petrol is about 8% more expensive than yesterday, with diesel up by more than 20%.

Data reported by petrol stations show regular petrol costs between EUR 1,617 and EUR 1,619 per litre depending on provider, up to EUR 1,628 along motorways. Until yesterday it was capped at EUR 1,503.

Diesel is priced at between EUR 1,817 and EUR 1,824 at major providers Petrol and OMV, and even higher at some smaller petrol stations, EUR 1,876. Yesterday it cost 1,514.

Prices were capped in mid-March in a bid to mitigate the surging prices of energy on global markets. On Friday, the government said the measure would not be extended since the markets had stabilised.

The announcement late on Friday that price administration will not be extended resulted in long queues at petrol stations around the country yesterday as people rushed to fill up, many showing up with additional canisters to stock up.

Many service stations ran out of diesel during the day.

30 April Last Day of Cap on Petrol, Diesel Prices

STA, 29 April 2022 - The government has decided not the extend the cap on the price of regular petrol and diesel introduced in March, saying on Friday that the petroleum products market had stabilised. This means the price, both retail and wholesale, will be freely formed on the market again as of 1 May.

The government responded on 14 March to the rising prices of petroleum products by setting maximum retail prices at service stations at EUR 1.503 for a litre of regular petrol and at 1.541 for diesel.

On 31 March, it also capped the wholesale price. Wholesalers have been allowed to charge EUR 1.483 per litre of petrol and EUR 1.521 per litre of diesel, a price the government said provided a margin that would make it possible for small retailers to secure fuel supplies.

The Economy Ministry said today that the goal of protecting consumers had been achieved and that the market had stabilised in the meantime, with Slovenia currently experiencing no disruptions or instability in the supply of motor fuels.

Although the market will be determining the prices again, the ministry expects prices to remain within the EU and eurozone average.

On the other hand, the government did extend by three months on Thursday reduced excise duties on energy products, including electricity, heating oil and natural gas, in addition to motor fuels.

The reduced excise duties, which are part of measures to mitigate the impact of the energy price hike on the population and businesses, will thus remain in force until 31 July.