ELECTRICITY prices for corporate clients in Slovakia are among the highest in the EU. The end-price depends on two factors in particular – the price of electricity itself and fees and tariffs – the Financial Policy Institute, a think tank within the Finance Ministry, wrote in an analysis released in mid February.
The document reads that the latter element, which include fees for distribution, transit losses, system services as well as the so-called tariff for operation of the system, hides support for mining, and for private investors in the sector of renewable energy resources and combined production of electricity and heat. “Electricity consumers will contribute as much as €322 million this year to some electricity producers and to support local coal mining,” states the paper. “That is how we support areas where private capital operates (solar power stations, mining, etc). Without these ‘subsidies’, the price of electricity would decrease this year.” The tariff for operation, which is also responsible for the increase in power prices for households in 2011, is obligatory for all electricity consumers. It currently makes up about 10.6 percent of the end-price for households, according to the institute, which further points out that through it, electricity consumers are subsidising unecological coal as well as renewable resources.
According to Eurostat statistics, the price of power for firms in Slovakia is the second highest over the EU average. During the first half of 2010, electricity supplied to a company with an average consumption of between 500 and 2000 MWh cost 26 percent more than the average for other EU member countries. On the other hand, the regulated household segment hovers around the EU average.
