EU measures unhelpful, PM Heger warns of nationalising electricity

Nationalising energies produced in Slovakia will be the last resort, government says.

Prime Minister Eduard Heger.Prime Minister Eduard Heger. (Source: TASR - Jaroslav Novák)

At their Friday's session, European Union energy ministers agreed on three measures to mitigate the effects of the energy crisis.

Capping the price of natural gas was, however, not included among the measures. This is bad news for Slovakia, which would be significantly helped by the cap, according to its Economy Minister Karel Hirman. "The measures provided the nation states with the tools to deal with the crisis," he said.

SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement
SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement

In reaction to the political agreement at the Council, as well as ahead of the meeting, Slovakia's Prime Minister Eduard Heger threatened that Slovakia may move to nationalise electricity already sold abroad. This is a last resort solution that could trigger international arbitration.

SkryťTurn off ads
Related article 50 tips to reduce energy consumption and save money Read more 

Electricity price limit

The ministers agreed on capping the price of electricity produced by nuclear, coal, and renewable sources at €180 per megawatt hour (MWh).

The state can collect excess revenues made by electricity producers, and use them to compensate for the high electricity prices of households or small and medium-sized businesses.

Ministers overseeing the energy business in their respective member states say that electricity producers have made windfall profits in recent months without increasing their operating costs.

The rest of this article is premium content at Spectator.sk
Subscribe now for full access

I already have subscription - Sign in

Subscription provides you with:
  • Immediate access to all locked articles (premium content) on Spectator.sk
  • Special weekly news summary + an audio recording with a weekly news summary to listen to at your convenience (received on a weekly basis directly to your e-mail)
  • PDF version of the latest issue of our newspaper, The Slovak Spectator, emailed directly to you
  • Access to all premium content on Sme.sk and Korzar.sk

Top stories

Janka, a blogger, during the inauguration of the first flight to Athens with Aegean Airlines at the airport in Bratislava on September 14, 2023.

A Czech rail operator connects Prague and Ukraine, Dominika Cibulková endorses Pellegrini, and Bratislava events.


Píšem or pišám?

"Do ľava," (to the left) I yelled, "Nie, do prava" (no, to the right), I gasped. "Dolšie," I screamed. "Nie, nie, horšie..." My Slovak girlfriend collapsed in laughter. Was it something I said?


Matthew J. Reynolds
Czech biochemist Jan Konvalinka.

Jan Konvalinka was expecting a pandemic before Covid-19 came along.


SkryťClose ad