Monitoring of Energy Legislation August 2025

See the most important legal news in the field of energy for the month of August 2025.

RONI is strengthening the regulatory framework for energy-intensive companies and announced that it has increased the intensity of inspections. OKTE in August reports on new trading products on the electricity market and on the possibility to download new certificates. SEPS has published a ten-year development plan for the transmission system, which you should not miss.

The government has approved an amendment to the Waste Act, which regulates the handling of electronic waste and photovoltaic panels in line with European rules and is to be adopted under accelerated legislative procedure.

In the past period, the Operating Rules of OKTE (the change of calculation of the imbalance settlement price) and the Operating Rules of SEPS have been amended, and personnel changes have taken place in the Regulatory Board of RONI and the SPP Board of Directors.

Read more about these and many other interesting news in our monitoring for the month of August 2025, which you can also download in PDF format.We wish you a pleasant reading!

We wish you a pleasant reading!

1. WHAT HAS CHANGED?

Note: In our monitoring of energy legislation, we monitor for you the changes to the above-mentioned legal regulations, which were published in the Collection of Laws of the Slovak Republic last month.

2. YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED

2.1      Regulatory Office for Network Industries

■      RONI strengthens the regulatory framework for energy-intensive companies

27 August 2025 - The Regulatory Office for Network Industries (“RONI”) is strengthening the regulatory framework for energy-intensive companies. RONI announced that on 22 August 2025 it met at the premises of the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic with representatives of the Association of Employers’ Unions and Associations (AZZZ) to discuss comments on the amendment to the Energy Act; the aim is to clarify the rules for the allocation of individual tariffs and reserved capacity, with legislative changes expected to enter into force on 1 January 2026.

Find out more in this article.

■      RONI explains the new methodology for electricity price settlement

22 August 2025 - At the plenary session of the Economic and Social Council of the Slovak Republic, RONI explained the adjustment of the methodology for settlement of deviations in electricity prices. RONI emphasized that the process was carried out transparently and in compliance with legislation.

Find out more in this article.

■      RONI shapes legislation to combat energy poverty

15 August 2025 - RONI reported that it attended a working meeting with the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic, at which it discussed its comments on the proposed amendments to Acts No. 250/2012 on the regulation of network industries and Act No. 251/2012 on energy. These amendments are part of the transposition of the EU Energy Efficiency Directive (Directive (EU) 2023/1791).

RONI proposed measures aimed at alleviating energy poverty, increasing energy efficiency in the regulation and tariffing of energy networks, requirements for the operation of transmission and distribution systems, as well as strengthening supervision of compliance with legislation. The ministry accepted most of these comments and decided to include them in the further legislative process.

Find out more in this article.

■      RONI increased the intensity of inspections — the first half of 2025 brought dozens of penalties

11 August 2025 - RONI significantly strengthened its inspection activities in the first half of this year and strictly punished offenders in the areas of electricity, heat, and water.

RONI reported that in the first half of 2025 it completed 47 inspections, and in 21 cases found violations of the law. It imposed 31 fines totalling EUR 122,100 and in the heat energy sector ordered the correction of unjustified costs amounting to EUR 105,280. The intensified inspection activity is the result of the expansion of the office’s powers, aimed at protecting consumers and ensuring compliance with rules in the network industries.

Find out more in this article.

■      RONI returned almost half a million euros to consumers

7 August 2025 - announced that in 2024 regulated energy companies must pay consumers compensation totalling € 444,140 for violations of legally established quality standards. This represents a significant increase compared to 2023, when the sum reached € 288,057.

RONI monitors annually whether suppliers comply with quality standards that ensure adequacy of services — for example, quick restoration of heat supply or prevention of frequent power outages. If consumers experience poor-quality services, they are automatically entitled to compensation. The Chairman of RONI pointed out that the reason for tightening these standards is to protect consumers from abuse of dominant positions by energy companies.

Find out more in this article.

■      RONI has new members of the Regulatory Board

6 August 2025 - The President of the Slovak Republic appointed Miloš Bikár and Marián Parkányi to the URSO Regulatory Board.

This restored the Regulatory Board’s quorum. The remaining vacant seat is to be filled by a candidate nominated by the National Council of the Slovak Republic. The replenishment of the Board enables its effective functioning in the area of strategic management of network industry regulation.

Find out more in this article.

2.2      Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic

■      MoE SR: Oil flow to Slovakia restored

18 August 2025 - Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Denisa Saková assured the public that Slovakia is not threatened in oil supplies, even though deliveries through the Družba pipeline were suspended due to damage to a transformer station on Russian territory. Work is underway to remove the failure and, according to current information, deliveries are proceeding according to schedule, with restoration of the flow expected in the coming days. The ministry also stressed that the country is prepared for longer outages thanks to strategic reserves and route diversification.

Subsequently, on 20 August 2025 the Ministry of Economy announced that oil flow through Družba had been restored and is currently running at standard throughput. The ministry will monitor ongoing supplies closely but given the rapid restoration it expects minimal impact on the monthly supply volume.

Find out more in this article and in this article.

2.3      Ministry of the Environment of the Slovak Republic

■      MoEN SR approved a new hydroelectric power plant on the Danube
5 September 2025

5 September 2025 - The Ministry of the Environment of the Slovak Republic approved the construction of a new hydroelectric power plant in Bratislava–Čunovo – the Čunovo II project, as published on its website.

The installed capacity of 14.83 MW will allow clean energy supply equivalent to the consumption of a smaller regional city and will deliver renewable energy without the need to raise the level of the Danube or modify its flow, using the unused discharge into the old riverbed. In the EIA assessment process, 22 technical measures were set, including measures for ensuring fish migration and monitoring their movement. The investment is estimated at a minimum of € 50 million and construction is scheduled to start in 2028.

Find out more in this article.

■      MoEN SR brought to the government an amendment affecting handling of photovoltaic panels

3 September 2025 - At its 101st session, the Government of the Slovak Republic approved an amendment to Act No. 79/2015 Coll. on Waste. The bill is to be adopted under accelerated legislative procedure, with proposed effectiveness from 1 January 2026.

The main reason for the change is the ruling of the EU Court of Justice of 12 September 2024 (C-341/23), according to which Slovakia failed to comply with the Landfill Directive. The aim is to eliminate shortcomings in the process of closing, reclaiming, and monitoring landfills and to align legislation with EU law.

The proposed amendment to the Waste Act also changes the rules for handling used photovoltaic panels. According to new rules arising from Directive (EU) 2024/884, manufacturers will no longer be retrospectively responsible for panels placed on the market between 2005 and 2012, i.e. before the EU legislation took effect. This means that if such older panels reach end of life, the obligation to ensure their disposal or recycling will pass to other entities – mainly owners or operators of installations.

Manufacturers will only have full responsibility for panels sold from 2012 onwards. The aim is to achieve a fairer distribution of obligations and to eliminate retroactive financing, which in practice caused problems. Owners of older solar systems should therefore expect that, when replacing panels, the solution for their disposal will rest directly with them or with companies operating the systems.

Find out more about the government’s proposal and the planned amendment HERE.

■      MoEN SR: landfills, EIA processes and waste laws under scrutiny

3 September 2025 – MoEN SR announced that it is preparing comprehensive reforms aimed at cleanliness and efficiency in the environmental sector. Through new legislation, the ministry is preparing for the closure and reclamation of old landfills, shortening and streamlining EIA processes, and simultaneously submitted an extensive amendment to the Waste Act.

The goal is to introduce electronic waste records, address electrical equipment, give the state new powers and remedy legal shortcomings after the EU Court of Justice ruling.

Find out more in this article.

2.4      Organizer of the Short-Term Electricity Market (OKTE)

■      OKTE: Client certificate exchange

2 September 2025 - announces that during the service window on 9 September 2025, between 17:00 and 21:00, the client certificate XMtrade ISOM – PSEUDONYM will be replaced; the certification authority remains unchanged.

This concerns exclusively users who use automated interfaces for data reporting and does not affect those who use the portal.

Find out more about the certificate exchange HERE.

■      OKTE invites to the 2^nd information webinar – Project Billing Data in OKTE
28 August 2025 - OKTE announces a webinar to be held on 16 September 2025 at 13:00.Webinar program:

Webinar program:

• current status of the ISFU project;
• information on account setup and other forms required before testing begins;
• presentation of the ISFU portal;
• information specifically for MDS in connection with upcoming testing.

More information about the webinar, as well as the possibility to register, can be found HERE.

■      OKTE: Testing new functionalities on the intraday market

27 August 2025 - OKTE announces that from 8 to 29 September 2025, trial days will be launched in the test environment (TEST), during which market participants will be able to try out a number of new intraday market functions in advance.

Available will be Iceberg orders, which increase the discretion of large transactions by displaying only part of the ordered volume; the possibility to modify existing orders (change of price or volume without having to cancel them); linked “fill-or-kill” orders, guaranteeing execution of all linked orders simultaneously or not at all.

Testing will also be possible via external systems. Trial days are voluntary and aim to prepare participants for the live launch – the new functionalities will be definitively deployed to production from 30 September 2025.

Find out more in this article.

■      OKTE completed consultation on changes to the Operating Rules – 3 out of 8 comments accepted

22. August 2025 - OKTE announces that the public consultation on the planned change to the Operating Rules of the organizer of the short-term electricity market took place from 4 August to 18 August 2025.

During the process, eight comments were received, of which three were partially or fully accepted. Details – including the text of submitted comments with OKTE’s responses and the final amended wording of the Operating Rules – are available on the company’s website.

Find out more HERE.

■      OKTE announces new certificates available for download

20 August 2025 – OKTE informs suppliers and distribution system operators that it has published new certificates for download on its website, including documents needed for secure communication and invoicing via ISFU.

Details and access materials are available directly on their site. In case of questions or technical problems, technical support can be contacted.

Further OKTE information is available HERE.

■      The Change of  imbalance settlement price in OKTE Operating Rules

19. August 2025 - The organizer of the short-term electricity market (“OKTE”) published on its website URSO decision No. 0013/2025/E-PP of 15 August 2025, which is available HERE.

This is a change to the OKTE Operating Rules relating the change of calculation of the " imbalance settlement price. The change was approved in proceedings initiated at the instigation of URSO. The new Operating Rules were also announced by OKTE on its website.

The new OKTE Operating Rules are valid from 1 September 2025.

■      OKTE: New trading products on the electricity market

12. August 2025 - From Q4 2025, OKTE introduces on the day-ahead market a new product – loop-blocks. It allows block orders to be matched in such a way that they are executed together or not at all – ideal for storage capacities and producers with multi-hour profiles.

OKTE also announces that on the intraday market, from 30 September 2025, three new functions will be available:

• Iceberg orders – show only part of the volume, the rest remains hidden;
• Order modification – adjust price or volume without cancelling the order;
• Linked fill-or-kill – linked orders executed together or not at all.

The aim is to increase flexibility, discretion, and trading efficiency for market participants.

The OKTE notice is available HERE.

2.5      Slovak Electricity Transmission System (SEPS)

■      SEPS: Ten-Year Development Plan of the Transmission System of the Slovak Republic (2026–2035) published

27 August 2025 - The Slovak Electricity Transmission System (“SEPS”) presented a new ten-year development plan for the transmission system for the years 2026 to 2035, based on legislative obligations (§28, para. 3 of the Energy Act) and reflecting growing demand for energy transmission, development of renewable resources, electromobility, battery storage, and heat pumps.

The plan uses scenarios based on assumptions of production, consumption, and cross-border exchanges, while also considering the European ten-year plan. The document also defined prospective investment projects — such as modernization of transmission lines, construction of new transformer stations, or strengthening of compensation elements — including a detailed schedule of expenditures and implementation.

The plan is available HERE.

You can find SEPS information about the plan at this link.

■      Change of SEPS Operating Rules

15 August 2025 - SEPS published on its website RONI decision No. 0011/2025/E-PP of 31 July 2025, which is available HERE. It concerns an amendment to the SEPS Operating Rules, within which Chapter “Definition of Terms” has been modified, where:

• the term “Disconnection from central platform control” was added, and
• the term “counter-imbalance” was deleted.

The new Operating Rules were also announced by SEPS on its website.

The new SEPS Operating Rules are effective from 16 August 2025.

■      Documents A, C, D, F and O of the Technical Conditions of SEPS

11 August 2025 - SEPS announced on its website that on 7 August 2025, Documents A, C, D, F, and O of the Technical Conditions came into force.

The documents are available HERE. Information can be found on the SEPS website.

■      SEPS explains imbalance settlement in the electricity sector

7 August 2025 - SEPS responds to misleading information about how the system of balancing differences between planned and actual electricity consumption or production works.

The claim that SEPS “obtains € 100 million” that other market participants used to receive is false, according to SEPS. It states that these funds cannot be used to reduce tariffs or to support households. The purchase of ancillary services is carried out exclusively in accordance with URSO’s decision, which sets maximum permitted costs.

Such “imbalances” are not a help of the system but a problem that must be actively addressed. Calculations and settlements are carried out by the independent company OKTE, not SEPS. SEPS does not use money from this system for itself or for households. On the contrary – in purchasing ancillary services it adheres to strict limits set by the regulator and in recent years has even achieved savings.

The SEPS explanation can be read at this link.

2.6      Others

■      SPP changed its Board of Directors

4 September 2025 - The Slovak Gas Industry (“SPP”) announced that the Ministry of Economy, as the sole shareholder of the company, carried out significant personnel changes in the company’s management on 4 September 2025. The new Chairman of the Board of Directors became Ing. Juraj Ondris, MBA, who previously served as a board member.

The company was also enriched by two new faces: Ing. Peter Bagin and JUDr. Vladimír Švigár were appointed members of the board. Ing. Martin Húska, currently a board member of SPP, became the new CEO. Ing. Martin Rybár remains Deputy Chairman of the Board

Find out more HERE.

You can download the monitoring for the month of August 2025 in PDF format here.

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Legal notice

The information provided to the subscriber as part of the monitoring of energy legislation is not a source of legally binding legislation, as only the collection of laws of the Slovak Republic contains the legally binding wording of the legislation in terms of the legal code of the Slovak Republic. The information provided to the subscriber is only informative and does not replace legal service pursuant to the Act no. 586/2003 Coll. on advocacy. The law firm POLÁČEK & PARTNERS s.r.o. is not responsible for the completeness and accuracy of the information provided in the energy legislation monitoring. In case of questions regarding the information provided to the subscriber, the subscriber can ask the law firm POLÁČEK & PARTNERS s.r.o. for the provision of legal services for this purpose.