Gas and heat prices for households in Slovakia will not rise, government approves subsidies

Bratislava, December 13 (CTK correspondent) – Households in Slovakia will not face higher prices for natural gas or heat next year. The state will once again subsidize prices across the board, using a reserve of 235 million euros (5.9 billion crowns) in the state budget. The government decided today, Prime Minister Robert Fico told reporters. Under an earlier decision by energy regulator ÚRSO, households faced gas price increases of up to a third from January. The opposition criticized government politicians for failing to introduce targeted assistance and deliver on their promise of cheaper energy. Energy and housing costs account for the largest share of Slovak household spending.

Slovakia began subsidizing gas prices and heat last year in response to their sharp increases on exchanges. For example, the state allocated 1.25 billion euros (31.3 billion crowns) for this purpose this year. Without the continuation of subsidies, prices for households in Slovakia would rise, in part because market energy prices remain higher than when the country began providing compensation.

„Energy will not be cheaper, and assistance with energy prices will not be targeted, as coalition parties promised before the election,“ the opposition Slovakia movement of former prime minister Igor Matovič said in a statement.

The liberal Freedom and Solidarity party criticized the fact that people would be paying for blanket assistance, including for those who heat swimming pools. It also pointed to the government’s consolidation package, which will mean Slovaks pay more in taxes next year.

Fico also indicated that he expects gas transit through Ukraine and Slovakia to Western Europe to continue next year. „I believe we will find a common solution for several European Union countries, even if gas supplies from the east are briefly interrupted,“ Fico said. He said offers for alternative gas supplies, including transit fees, are more expensive.

Slovakia receives gas from Russian conglomerate Gazprom under a long-term contract. The contract for the transit of Russian gas to the EU through Ukraine expires at the end of this year, and the government in Kyiv has said several times that it does not want to extend it.

ÚRSO has previously said that overall electricity prices for households in Slovakia will not change significantly. The former Slovak government reached an agreement with the shareholders of the country’s largest electricity producer, Slovenské elektrárne, on supplies of cheap electricity. The agreement remains in force under the current government.