STA 10 May 2022 - Prices of petroleum products increased again on Tuesday after surging on 1 May when the government lifted a 45-day price cap. The prices of regular petrol rose from 6.0 to 6.5 cents per litre, while diesel went up a bit less. Robert Golob, the most likely new PM-elect, has announced his government will re-introduce price regulation.

A litre of regular petrol outside motorways and expressways now costs EUR 1.717 at Petrol and MOL Slovenija filling stations and EUR 1.714 at OMV Slovenija's, which is around 6 cents more than on Monday. The price of regular along motorways is around EUR 1.78 at all three largest providers.

A litre of diesel cost just over EUR 1.85 on Monday outside motorways and expressways, while it is now at EUR 1.862 at Petrol and MOL Slovenija's stations and EUR 1.856 at OMV Slovenija. Along the motorways, diesel costs just over EUR 1.92.

Fuel prices surged when the price regulation was lifted, with regular petrol rising by about 8% and diesel by more than 20% on 1 May.

The Janez Janša government introduced a cap on energy prices in mid-March to mitigate the rising prices of energy on global markets.

When deciding against extending the cap at the end April, it said the markets had stabilised over the past month and a half.

Prices are thus expected to be further rising, especially in case of an embargo on Russian oil.

However, Freedom Movement leader Golob said on Monday the new government would introduce energy price regulation, targetting not just fuel but also other energy sources.

Asked whether prices would be just regulated or also subsidised, he said it was necessary to see what the situation in the world and in neighbouring countries will be.

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) meanwhile urged the government "to temporarily regulate prices on the wholesale market and compensates oil traders".

"This would limit the uncontrolled fuel price rises and as a consequence curb the general rise in the prices of services and products," the GZS said in Tuesday's release.

The chamber argues that higher fuel prices have a major impact on the commercial transport sector, rising prices of transport services, which causes a spiral of price hikes in other sectors and making most goods and services more expensive.

A GZS analysis has shown the price of fuel represents as much as 30% of the cost of the price of transport, "which means many transport providers are forced to consider rising the price of transport services to remain profitable".

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.

STA, 28 April 2022 - The government has extended the validity of reduced excise duties on electricity, motor fuels, heating oil and natural gas for heating for three more months until 31 July.

The reduced excise duties on energy products first kicked in on 1 February as part of a package of measures to mitigate the impact of energy price hikes on the population and businesses.

The government later also capped the retail and wholesale prices of regular petrol and diesel fuel. It has recently also extended the cap on the prices of heating oil by another month.

Announcing a new extension of the reduced excise duties after the cabinet session on Thursday, the Finance Ministry said it was trying to help the population and businesses cope with the high oil prices by fiscal policy measures as well.

The reduced excise duties are 35.9 cents per litre of petrol, 33 cents per litre of diesel, 7.875 cents per litre of heating oil and 85.5 cents per megawatt hour of natural gas for heating.

Unless the government extends by the end of this month administered prices of most motor fuels, these are expected to go up next week.

Estimates by the newspaper Finance show petrol prices could exceed EUR 1.60 a litre on 1 May unless the government extends the price cap. Diesel could cost EUR 1.82 a litre, taking into account reduced excise.

As of February the excise duty on electricity was reduced from EUR 3.05 per MWh to EUR 1.525 per MWh for small consumers and from EUR 1.80 to EUR 0.90 per MWh for large consumers (over 10.000 MWh per year).

The reduced duty has been extended by three months, while the temporary freeze on network charges remains in force until the end of April.

Asked about a potential extension or new measures to mitigate price hikes beyond the planned periods, the Infrastructure Ministry has not provided an answer.

At the beginning of April, Prime Minister Janez Janša said the government would continue to intervene as long as necessary to contain high electricity prices, until these are reduced through a change in the European formula for the calculation of electricity prices. The funds were to come from state-owned power producers.

STA, 31 March 2022 - The Slovenian government has capped the wholesale price of regular petrol and diesel two and a half weeks after regulating retail prices. The wholesale price has been set two cents below the retail price.

Wholesalers will be allowed to charge EUR 1.483 per litre of petrol and EUR 1.521 per litre of diesel, a price the government said on Thursday provided a margin that would make it possible for small retailers to secure fuel supplies.

Many small service station operators have complained that they were simply not getting fuel from wholesalers since prices were capped. Either that, or they were forced to buy fuel at a price above the maximum retail price.

Indeed, the government decree explicitly stipulates now that companies selling fuel may not stop deliveries. In the event they incur losses, they will be compensated under a scheme that will be put in place after this temporary measure expires.

Price administration was initially put in place for a month, but today's decree extends it until 30 April.

STA, 18 March 2022 - The energy group Petrol generated sales revenues of EUR 4.96 billion in 2021, which is up 61% year-on-year. Net profit was up by 72% to EUR 124.5 million, the parent company said in a press release on Friday. The management will propose a dividend of EUR 30 gross per share for 2021, in line with the adopted dividend policy.

The group last year posted EUR 543.4 million in adjusted gross profit, up 27% over 2020, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 43% to EUR 238.1 million.

The majority of this was driven by sales of petroleum products, a fifth was generated by sales of merchandise and related services, and the rest by sales of other energy products, energy and environmental solutions and the generation of electricity from renewable sources.

In 2021 the Petrol group earmarked EUR 233.2 million net for investments in property, plant and equipment, intangible assets and for long-term investments, reads the press release.

"Regional indicators show the strengthening of the Petrol group in Southeast Europe where it generated 28% of its operating profit and 31% of the EBITDA in 2021."

At the end of last year, the group's retail network comprised nearly 600 points of sale, of which almost a half were abroad.

The year was again marked by the Covid-19 pandemic and related restrictions. Another external factor affecting the company's operations last year was the energy crisis, which saw energy price hikes, especially in terms of electricity and natural gas, whose prices reached historic levels.

The group said it had managed to adapt to both factors and mitigate their negative effects, "and what is more, it has even exceeded the ambitious goals".

Under its 2021-2025 strategy, the group aims to diversify its operations towards the energy transition. "This segment's EBITDA accounted for 26% in 2021. As many as 62% of investments were earmarked for the energy transition."

On Thursday, the Petrol supervisory board proposed to the general assembly of Petrol shareholders a dividend for 2021 of EUR 30 gross per share, chief supervisor Janez Žlak and CEO Nada Drobne Popović announced in a separate statement.

Touching on the situation in Ukraine, the group said it had no subsidiaries or representative offices in Ukraine, Russia or Belarus.

It also explained that the share of sales revenue generated by the group in these markets was insignificant and that the procurement of energy products in these markets, with the exception of natural gas, represented a small share of Petrol's portfolio.

For Petrol, Russia as a source of supply in 2021 and the first two months of 2022 for diesel and extra light heating oil accounts for less than 7%. However, no petrol is imported from Russia, the group added.

STA, 16 March 2022 - The crisis situation in Ukraine is bringing uncertainty into the operations of all business entities and deepening the crisis due to high energy prices, the strategic council for energy transition at Slovenia's Chamber of Commerce (GZS) said on Tuesday, adding that there was no energy deficiency yet, but prices were highly volatile.

GZS head Aleš Cantarutti said that the current tense geopolitical situation in Europe had only deepened the energy crisis, as energy price hikes were also being translated into high transport prices and limited access to raw materials.

He added that Slovenia's latest energy crisis relief legislative package was "a plaster on the wound," but "energy price hikes since September last year are much higher than the aid foreseen, which does not take into account the damage actually suffered by companies".

Industry representatives pointed out that their strategic plans were geared towards decarbonisation, increasing energy efficiency and self-sufficiency, but that in such an extremely volatile environment, they are being forced to make very short-term decisions.

Slovenian companies are already deciding on a daily basis whether to operate at full or reduced capacity, or even to temporarily halt production because of increasing costs, they added.

The GZS's strategic council for energy transition also expects the government to follow EU directions to tackle the energy crisis and respond immediately with additional measures and support for the economy.

They expressed support to changes to the model of forming electricity prices to reduce dependence on gas prices, which have been pushing electricity prices up.

In the long term, the GZS wishes for the construction of facilities for renewable energy sources to be considered "public interest", as building such facilities has been a big problem in Slovenia.

As regards the measure to exempt all consumers from the payment of network fee, the participants of Tuesday's meeting highlighted the liquidity issues on the distribution side and expressed concerns about the stagnation of planned investments in electricity networks.

Meanwhile, the strategic council and Infrastructure Ministry State Secretary Blaž Košorok expressed satisfaction about Slovenia being a member of the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E), which ensures a safe and secure energy supply.

They also discussed the impact of the planned integration of Ukraine's electricity system into the EU system. They assessed that such an operation entails certain technical, communicational and economic risks, as the country is currently at war and the infrastructure is damaged.

STA, 14 March 2022 - The prices of the two best-selling petrols, regular and diesel, will be capped for a month starting today. Regular now costs 1,503 per litre, about six cents below the lowest price at the pump on Monday, and diesel is capped at EUR 1,541, roughly 13 cents cheaper.

The price cap was reintroduced by the government on Monday to arrest the surge in petrol prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which led to rising global oil prices.

"The aim is to calm the situation on the motor fuels market," Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek said.

The price was capped based on calculations taking into account the seven-day representative average of prices that the Infrastructure Ministry sends to the European Commission.

The situation will be monitored during the next 30 days and the government will take further action if necessary.

The newspaper Finance assessed the government's decision will push fuel retailers into the red for at least this week.

Its calculations show that retailers are to lose more than 10 cents per litre of diesel sold and around 5 cents per litre of regular. Other costs included, the loss is even higher.

Since the demand at stations along the Italian border has now increased because the prices are much lower than in Italy, the losses of these stations will be even higher.

Retailers have so far been reserved in their reactions. OMV Slovenija told Finance that premium diesel had been removed from sale because its sale was no longer commercially viable.

Meanwhile, hauliers are happy with the capped prices, as fuel costs had accounted for a record 30% of all their costs after fuel prices went up by almost a third since the start of the year, according to Robert Sever from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS). Now they are down to 15%, he told the STA.

Finance has also calculated the effects of the government's decision on state revenue from excise duties on fuel. The state is to receive one cent fewer per litre of petrol, which is still one cent more than two weeks ago. For diesel the drop is two cents per litre, which is still one cent more than two weeks ago.