Monitoring of Energy Legislation December 2025

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

The Government approved two amendments to the regulations on targeted energy support and one amendment to the regulations on maximum prices of electricity, gas, and heat for 2026. These changes adjust household eligibility criteria and modify the mechanism of energy vouchers.

The RONI adopted new decisions on electricity distribution tariffs for regional distribution system operators. It also set tariffs for system services and system operation for OKTE and opened public consultations on the planned banded consumption tariffs for electricity supply.

SEPS informed about an amendment to a price decision concerning ancillary services.

Read more about these and many other interesting news in our monitoring for the month of December 2025, which you can also download in PDF format.

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   APPROVED LEGISLATION IN THE ENERGY SECTOR

■      Amendment to the Decree on Criteria for the Development of Wind Energy 

17 December 2025 – Decree No. 371/2025 Coll. was published in the Collection of Laws, amending and supplementing the Decree of the Ministry of the Environment of the Slovak Republic (“MoEN SR”) No. 354/2025 Coll. on criteria for the development of wind energy.

The amendment clarifies that the decree regulates not only the criteria, but also the detailed rules for determining acceleration zones, and introduces a new annex setting out a detailed procedure for their identification. This procedure includes, in particular, compliance with spatial planning, assessment of wind potential, grid connection possibilities, evaluation of environmental impacts, aviation safety considerations, and public participation at each stage of the process. The aim of the amendment is to unify and clarify procedures for the development of wind energy and to support accelerated permitting of projects while maintaining environmental protection standards.

The amendment enters into force on 22 December 2025.

The full text of the amended decree is available here.

■      Two Amendments to the Regulation on Targeted Energy Support 

10 and 17 December 2025 – The Government of the Slovak Republic approved two amendments to Regulation No. 353/2025 Coll., which implements certain provisions of the Act on targeted energy support.

The first amendment (No. 358/2025 Coll.) clarifies the calculation of the energy household eligibility score that determines entitlement to targeted energy support. It entered into force on the date of its promulgation, i.e. 13 December 2025.

The key change is the inclusion of income from profit shares (dividends) among the household incomes assessed. The amendment also provides that households with a member who is a Member of the National Council of the Slovak Republic are deemed to have an eligibility score above the entitlement threshold, similarly to households of other constitutional officials.

The second amendment (No. 388/2025 Coll.) responds to practical issues in determining the value of the energy voucher, particularly in relation to heat prices and supplied volumes, and introduces adjustments applicable for 2026. It entered into force on the date of its promulgation, i.e. 19 December 2025.

Under the new rules, the calculation will also take into account situations where there are significant differences between the maximum heat prices approved by the regulator and the prices actually applied or announced by suppliers, as well as differences between the ordered and actually delivered quantities of heat. The amendment also introduces a transitional provision for 2026, under which only one quarter of the energy voucher will be paid in January, with the remaining part paid after a subsequent reassessment.

The full text of the amended regulation is available here.

■      Amendment to the Government Regulation on Regulated Energy Prices for 2026

10 December 2025 – The Government of the Slovak Republic approved an amendment to Government Regulation No. 359/2025 Coll., which establishes the maximum price for a portion of the regulated supply of electricity, gas, and heat for selected vulnerable customers for 2026.

The amendment clarifies the application of the maximum price for gas supply, extending it to all household gas consumers, instead of the originally narrower category of “selected vulnerable gas consumers.” This is a legislative-technical adjustment intended to simplify the interpretation and practical application of price regulation. The amendment enters into force on 1 January 2026.

The full text of the amended regulation is available here.

2.2   REGULATORY OFFICE FOR NETWORK INDUSTRIES

■      RONI adopted a new decision on System Services Tariffs (TSS) and System Operation Tariffs (TOS) for OKTE

31 December 2025 – RONI adopted Decision No. 0113/2026/E, determining the system services tariffs (TSS) and system operation tariffs (TOS) in the electricity sector for the regulated entity OKTE, a. s., for the period 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2027.

These are key regulated charges that form part of the final electricity price for both households and businesses and will therefore affect end-user electricity costs. The decision has been published on the RONI website but is not yet final (an appeal may be lodged within the statutory time limit). The tariffs apply to electricity prices from 1 January 2026.

RONI set the following System Services Tariffs (TSS) for 2026:

• Group 1: decrease from 12,4207 → 10,9796 €/MWh (−11,60%);
• Group 2: increase from 4,4173 → 4,8310 €/MWh (+9,37%);
• Group 3: increase from 1,3402 → 1,4273 €/MWh (+6.50%);
• Group 4: decrease from 1.2421 → 1.0979 €/MWh (−11.61%).

RONI set the following System Operation Tariffs (TPS) for 2026:

• Group 1: decrease from 15.9000 → 14.0710 €/MWh (−11.50%);
• Group 2: decrease from 11.9000 → 11.3543 €/MWh (−4.59%);
• Group 3: decrease from 1.9500 → 1.6601 €/MWh (−14.87%);
• Group 4: decrease from 1.5900 → 1.4071 €/MWh (−11.50%).

The decision is available here.

■      RONI continues preparation of a New Regulatory Policy

19 December 2025 – RONI announced the preparation of a strategic policy document for the 7th regulatory period (2028–2032), which will build on the current regulatory framework. The objective is to create a crisis-resilient regulatory model and to strengthen the energy stability and sovereignty of the Slovak Republic.

According to the Chairman of RONI, the new approach responds to the hard lessons learned during the energy crisis, which revealed weaknesses in existing regulatory decisions as well as in certain European directives.

RONI already launched consultations with stakeholders in 2025 and expects the final document to be approved in 2027, ensuring a smooth transition into the next regulatory period starting in 2028.

More details are available in the related article.

■      RONI: Banded electricity Supply Tariffs open for public consultation 

December 2025 – RONI confirmed in December 2025 that it is preparing the introduction of banded (tiered) electricity supply tariffs and simultaneously launched public consultations on this initiative. According to the regulator, the positive response from the market and the public to the preliminary information on banded tariffs led to the opening of a discussion in which market participants may submit their comments.

RONI emphasizes that the published materials are informational and discussion-based only and do not represent a final regulatory proposal. The aim of the consultations is to conduct an expert debate over the coming weeks and to take into account justified market input before any specific model is defined.

According to the regulator, banded tariffs should result in a fairer allocation of electricity supply costs based on the level of consumption, while also encouraging energy savings. A key prerequisite for their introduction is the technical readiness of the market, in particular the wider deployment of smart metering. RONI will provide further information on the next steps and on the concrete design of the banded tariffs following the outcome of the public consultations.

More information is available in the related articles here and here.

2.3   MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC

■      MoEN SR: State to invest 125 Million Eur in the modernisation of district heating networks and hydropower plants 

11 December 2025 – The Ministry of the Environment of the Slovak Republic, together with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, announced financial support of 125 million EUR from the Modernisation Fund for 11 investment projects aimed at improving energy efficiency, increasing heat and electricity generation from renewable energy sources, and modernising hydropower plants.

The support is primarily directed towards the modernisation of large hydropower plants, including Gabčíkovo Hydropower Plant and Čunovo Hydropower Plant, upgrades of district heating distribution networks in cities, and increasing the share of renewable energy sources in heat and electricity production.

The objective of these investments is to strengthen energy security and reliability of supply, reduce emissions, and extend the lifespan of key energy infrastructure.

More information from the MoEN SR is available here.

2.4   SHORT-TERM ELECTRICITY MARKET OPERATOR

■      OKTE: Evaluation of the Public Consultation on ISOT v1.23

2 January 2026 – The short-term electricity market operator (“OKTE”) published the evaluation of the public consultation on the Technical Specification of External Interfaces of the ISOT system (version v1.23). The consultation took place in December 2025, during which a limited number of comments were submitted; none of them were accepted. The final version of the technical specification has been published, and the entry into force of version v1.23 is expected as of 4 March 2026. The notice is primarily intended for market participants using the external interfaces of the ISOT system.

The proposed changes (version v1.23) focused on expanding the functionality of external interfaces, in particular by adding data on traded volumes, providing access to a list of trades, introducing information on request rate limiting, and extending outputs via Web API and WebSocket. The objective was to make data exchange more efficient and to improve technical support for market participants.

More information is available here and here.

■      OKTE Introduced New Functionalities in the IS ZPE System

8 December 2025 – OKTE implemented new functionalities in the Guarantees of Origin Information System (IS ZPE), simplifying the registration and processing of guarantees of origin for market participants.

Key updates include:

• The system now displays an overview of available volumes of guarantees of origin for each month and for individual installations, distinguishing between grid supply and self-consumption.
• Market participants can use automatic submission of applications for the issuance of guarantees of origin, eliminating the need for manual monthly applications—once configured, the process runs automatically within IS ZPE.

More information is available here.

2.5   SLOVAK ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION SYSTEM (SEPS) 

■      SEPS informs about an amendment to the Decision on Prices for Ancillary Services 

19 December 2025 – SEPS announced that the RONI issued Price Decision No. 0098/2026/E. This decision amends the previous RONI Decision No. 0001/2026/E of 9 October 2025, which set the maximum prices for the provision of ancillary services and the costs of procuring ancillary services for the transmission system operator SEPS for the period 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2027.

The key change concerns the adjustment of the maximum price for primary active power and frequency regulation (FCR±) for SEPS. The new price is set at EUR 28.00/MW/h for a range of ±33 MW.

The reason for this adjustment is that the dimensioned FCR± value for 2026 was approved at ±33 MW, instead of the originally envisaged 30 MW decided at the European level (Regional Group Continental Europe). All other provisions of the original decision remain unchanged and apply under the same conditions for the period from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2027.

The amending decision is available here. More details can be found in the related article.

■      SEPS: Tender announced for the procurement of Ancillary Services

15 december 2025 – SEPS announced a tender for the procurement of ancillary services via the Damas Energy information system, covering the period from 1 January 2026 to 31 January 2026.

More information is available in the SEPS notice here.

2.6   OTHERS

■      New Tariffs for Access to and Distribution of Electricity

December 2025 – RONI issued price decisions for regional electricity distribution system operators, setting tariffs for access to the distribution system and for electricity distribution. These include the following decisions:

• no. 0097/2026/E for Stredoslovenská distribučná, a.s. available here;
• no. 0078/2026/E for Východoslovenská distribučná, a.s. available here;
• no. 0077/2026/E for Západoslovenská distribučná, a.s. available here.

The decisions enter into force on 1 January 2026 and apply to the price regulation period 2026–2027.

These decisions are also relevant for local distribution system operators (MDS) connected to regional distribution systems and applying adopted tariff schedules from the superior regional DSO. Such MDS operators base their own regulated tariffs on the price conditions approved for the superior regional distribution system, for connection points at both high voltage (HV) and low voltage (LV).

■      New official Energy Support website

December 2025 - Web www.energopomoc.sk is the official online platform of the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic, designed to help households identify and use state energy support in response to high energy prices.

The website offers:

• a simple tool to check whether you are eligible for energy support;
• a clear overview of how support for electricity, gas, and heat works, who it is intended for, and under what conditions;
• an FAQ section with answers to the most frequently asked questions;
• benefits and practical advice for households;
• forms and contact details, including links to a call centre for additional assistance.

The website therefore serves as the central point of reference for quick eligibility checks and information on targeted energy support for 2026.

You can download the monitoring for the month of December 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.