IN COMPLIANCE with Prime Minister Robert Fico’s statements that household gas prices will not rise, the Regulatory Office for Network Industries (ÚRSO) decided on October 15 to turn down the SPP gas utility’s second request to increase prices, the Sme daily wrote.
ÚRSO spokesperson Miroslav Lupták told the SITA newswire that SPP had requested an increase of nearly 20 percent as of November 3.
“After examining the submitted documents, the ÚRSO stated that a significant change to economic parameters was not sufficiently justified, since the documents that the regulated entity submitted to the ÚRSO were incomplete or were not processed to the required extent and quality,” Lupták said.
SPP maintains that it is paying more for gas from Russian firm Gazprom, and needs to recoup some of the cost by raising prices.
If prices do not go up, SPP said, the company will begin accumulating losses.
ÚRSO responds that SPP has not been able to prop up its arguments with real figures. It maintains that SPP’s proposal lacks documents on which the ÚRSO would be able to assess objectively whether SPP’s request for an increase is justified, the daily wrote.
SPP, which is controlled by French and German shareholders, says openly that it is considering legal steps to protect its rights.
In fact, all of Europe is paying more for gas due to the higher price of crude oil and oil products, analysts say.
