The Czech company Energy and Industrial Holding (EPH) has promised Prime Minister Robert Fico that if it becomes a minority shareholder in the Slovak gas utility SPP, it would not try next year to increase gas prices for retail consumers. "They even wrote in a letter to me that they would waive any claims they could have raised against Slovakia in arbitration proceedings based on price regulation," Fico said on Wednesday, October 24, as quoted by the SITA newswire.
After receiving EPH’s promise, the prime minister opened cabinet discussion on changes to the shareholder structure of SPP. In the past two weeks, Fico has refused to discuss approval of the potential sale of the minority stake in SPP currently owned by foreign shareholders Gas de France Suez and E.ON Ruhrgas until they withdrew their proposal to raise gas prices for households next year by 18 to 25 percent.
Source: SITA
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
