Vojany power plant (source: Sme)
“Elektrárne Vojany announced gradual laying off of its employees in several phases until the end of 2015,” spokeswoman of the Economy Ministry Miriam Žiaková informed the SITA newswire, after Finance Minister temporarily heading also the Economy Ministry, Peter Kažimír, met with the representative of the Elektrárne Vojany labour union Ján Topoľský on June 3.
However, the Economy Ministry – which is a 34-percent shareholder of Slovenské elektrárne power utility which operates also Elektrárne Vojany, failed to specify the number. Shareholders plan to meet soon and find a solution preventing a gradual close-down of the power plant, Žiaková said.
Slovenské elektrárne (SE) plans to continue operating the power plant in Vojany, but its spokeswoman Janka Burdová did not rule out a certain optimising. SE has invested millions of euros in modernising and making the Elektrárne Vojany more environmentally friendly.
“However, the unfavourable development on the market, together with continuous decline in wholesale price of electric power and other burdens – via additional regulation fees for the power produced – have created a difficult environment for operation a power plant that is fully facing the risk without any external help,” Burdová said.
Most-Híd MP Elemér Jakab who first leaked the information on layoffs stressed that EV is one of the most important employers in the south Zemplín region, offering more than 400 jobs to locals in the Michalovce district, which already has high unemployment.
The plant consists of two energy production units: the black coal Elektrárne Vojany I (performance 4x110 Megawatt) and natural gas plant Elektrárne Vojany II (4 x 110 Megawatt), with the latter being out of operation. By delivering base electric power, Elektrárne Vojany secures the reliability of the transmission grid in eastern Slovakia, also offers support services for the electricity supply system, which are necessary to keep the quality indeces of the system, SITA wrote.
