Electricity Industry Profiles—Slovakia

Slovakia sits at the heart of the European energy network, with connections to Poland, Ukraine, Hungary and the Czech Republic. Slovakia generates 71.4% of its electricity from nuclear and hydropower. With the new nuclear units under construction, export potential is likely to exist, but this is expected in the long-term. Slovakia’s hydropower capacity will enable it to come close to its 2020 renewable energy target, but with limited renewable energy projects under development, it is likely to fall just short. In terms of new investment, a total of €14.66 billion is forecast be invested by 2030, the majority of which will be in the remaining new nuclear units. There is limited regulatory or incentive support for either wind or solar power, so investment in both will be limited in the future. Wind faces significant local opposition to new development on aesthetic grounds.

The key drivers in the Slovakian market are a desire to reduce import dependency, data monitoring for energy efficiency and a restructuring of the energy mix. The major restraints are the regulatory issues and adverse development of electricity production costs. Industrial electricity demand is still key in this market, with industrial users accounting for 48.1% of tiotal demand, well ahead of commercial with 28.5% of demand. This reflects Slovakia’s strong industrial performance as a location for, among other sectors, a number of large automotive OEMs.

Energy security and decreasing its emissions are Slovakia’s priorities for its energy transition period. Due to the insufficient political incentives the liberalisation of Slovakia’s electricity market has been a slow process. A number of the European majors, including Enel and E.ON own stakes in generation and transmission and distribution assets in the country, but there are limited plans for further investment as other country markets are prioritised. Other companies active in the market include: Zapadoslovenska Energia, Stredoslovenska Energeticke, Vychodoslovenska Energetika, SE Predaj, CEZ Slovensko, Západoslovenská distribu?ná, Stredoslovenská energetika, Východoslovenská distribu?ná