(source: Courtesy of Slovenské elektrárne, a.s.)
Today, there are still 1.4 billion people worldwide without electricity. A further billion have no reliable access to it. The power supplier Slovenské elektrárne (SE), which since 2006 has been part of the Enel Group, guarantees Slovakia's energy security through its stable production and continuous investments in the modernisation of existing sources of electricity, and in the development of new sources. Moreover, in recent weeks the Enel Group pledged at the UN to secure access to power for two million extra households over the next three years. In Slovakia, we expect the third and fourth blocks of the Mochovce nuclear power plant to be finished.
SE already manages a reliable mix of production sources: hydroelectric, nuclear, thermal and photovoltaic power plants. Two new photovoltaic plants, in Mochovce and near the Vojany thermal power plant, contribute to the 90 percent of electricity that SE produces without generating harmful emissions of greenhouse gases. In fact, as early as 2009 Slovenské elektrárne brought the first photovoltaic panels to the Téry mountain lodge and the Zbojnícka mountain lodge. It thereby returned green energy to the High Tatras through the project Energia pre prírodu / Energy for Nature. Research and development together with the development of production capacities are just one way in which SE contributes to the long-term fulfilment of its corporate goals. An equally important part is the development of human capital and the education of young power engineers. Slovenské elektrárne is developing long-term cooperation with Slovak technical universities and the Slovak Academy of Sciences. It supports future power-course undergraduates with several projects. Each year, it awards scholarships of €1,330 each to fifty students who achieve top results. Technology-course students also have the opportunity to engage in several competitions for people with talent in the energy sphere. One of them is the upcoming competition for the Aurel Stodola Award in which those interested in participating can apply, using their final works, until October 10 at the latest. The authors of the best dissertation, diploma and bachelor's works can receive considerable financial rewards. The winners of this year’s Aurel Stodola Award will be announced at a ceremonial evaluation in November.
Aside from the technical aspects, SE's programmes that focus not just on green energy but also on the sources for future generations are popular among young people. These are mainly events aimed at improving and preserving the clean environment in Slovakia's mountains and forests. Visitors to mountain parks during the high tourist season leave a lot of waste behind them. Employees of Slovenské elektrárne and volunteers from all over Slovakia regularly participate in the event Čisté hory / Clean Mountains which aims to clean up mountain paths, lakes and forests. This year, they focused on the area around the Brnčalka mountain lodge. Brnčalka will also soon get a new source of power. In the past, it generated power for its own consumption from a small hydroelectric power station which is no longer operational. Currently, a diesel generator, producing harmful emissions, is used to cover the lodge’s needs. Thus, Slovenské elektrárne, in cooperation with other experts, has initiated preparation of a project to renew the small hydroelectric plant, near Zelené pleso lake. Reconstruction of the power plant will start this autumn, and so Brnčalka will become the third lodge in the high mountains to become energy self-sufficient using green energy.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) when doing business is regarded by Slovenské elektrárne as an inseparable part of the group and company's management culture. CSR creates conditions for permanently sustainable development in a responsible way, taking into consideration the environment – during everyday business as well as in other spheres of life. The programme Energia pre krajinu / Energy for the Country has been a synonym for social and environmental responsibility in Slovenské elektrárne for three years now. It includes activities divided by themes into five spheres focused on the development and protection of cultural values, nature and environmental protection and the preservation of bio-diversity, prevention as well as protection of health, development of sports activities, and support for and development of education, charity and philanthropic activities. Briefly, these are the programmes Energia pre prírodu / Energy for Nature, Energia pre život / Energy for Life, Energia pre kultúru / Energy for Culture, Energia pre vzdelanie / Energy for Education and Energia pre šport / Energy for Sport. In 2010, the company invested a total of more than €1.91 million in this project, through which it supported 504 projects in the five spheres mentioned above.
