Monitoring of Energy Legislation March 2025

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

A draft of a new law on the provision of data for the purpose of targeted energy aid was submitted to the National Council of the Slovak Republic. The Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic issued new guidelines for energy subsidies in the gas sector. The Regulatory Office for Network Industries (RONI) published information about a reduction in SST tariff prices by almost 20%.

We would like to highlight the upcoming call for applications by SIEA under the Slovakia Program, focused on supporting energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources in businesses, as well as the planned launch of the "Green for Businesses" project.

We would also like to remind you that registration is open for the SAPI Energy Conference 2025, which will take place on May 21–22, and where our law firm will be one of the partners. Jozef Hudák from Poláček & Partners will be speaking at the conference.

Read more about these and many other interesting news in our monitoring for the month of March 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. In the month of  March 2025, no change to any of the afore mentioned legal regulations was published in the Collection of Laws of the Slovak Republic.

2.            YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED

■     SAPI Energy Conference 2025 is just around the corner

Our law firm is once again a proud partner of the SAPI Energy Conference, which will take place on May 21–22, 2025.  The conference will address conditions for the development of renewable energy sources, industrial decarbonization, modern energy solutions, and the digitalization of energy networks. Representing Poláček & Partners at the conference, attorney and partner Jozef Hudák will participate in a panel discussion on the topic of Selling and Sharing Green Energy. You can register for the conference HERE.

■     Draft act on the provision of data for the purpose of targeted energy aid

On March 17, 2025, the government’s draft for the issuance of a new Act on the Provision of Data for the Purpose of Targeted Energy Aid (Parliamentary Print Number: 774) was delivered to the National Council of the Slovak Republic (Národná rada Slovenskej republiky, hereinafter referred to as  "NR SR").

The draft act was submitted and prepared as an initiative of the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic (Ministerstvo hospodárstva Slovenskej republiky, hereinafter referred to as "Ministry of Economy"), which, in accordance with applicable general binding legal regulations, government resolutions, and other strategic documents, has since 2023 been responsible for managing assistance to vulnerable energy consumers in households and selected other energy consumers.

It is anticipated that during 2026, and in the years to come, targeted energy aid will be provided to vulnerable household consumers at risk of energy poverty.

The aim of this draft is to create a legislative framework for the collection and analysis of socio-economic data (such as income, benefits, and contributions that form the income side of household budgets) and other information (especially regarding the size and nature of energy and water consumption, which form the expenditure side of household budgets). This will cover end household consumers of electricity, gas, water, and district heating, as well as other household members who also consume energy.

The goal of collecting and analysing this data is to create and maintain a logically structured database operated by the Ministry of Economy. Over time, this database will be transformed into a comprehensive information system for evaluating the risk of energy poverty among households, including an established register of supply points containing all relevant data necessary for institutionalizing a system of targeted energy aid.

The explanatory report attached to the draft law states that, in terms of scope, no new categories of information are being introduced compared to current practice. The information already collected and processed by various entities, from whom the draft law anticipates data provision upon request by the Ministry of Economy, will continue to be used, in the manner and to the extent specified in the data request.

The draft law is proposed to come into force on the day of its publication.

The current status of the legislative process can be monitored at this link.

■      Draft act amending and supplementing the Energy Act and other acts

On March 17, 2025, the public comment procedure began for the draft act amending and supplementing Act No. 251/2012 Coll. on Energy and on Amendments and Supplements to Certain Acts, as amended (hereinafter referred to as the "Energy Act"), and amending and supplementing several other acts, namely: Act No. 250/2012 Coll. on Regulation in Network Industries ("Regulation Act"), Act No. 309/2009 Coll. on the Support of Renewable Energy Sources and High-Efficiency Cogeneration and on Amendments and Supplements to Certain Acts ("RES Support Act"), Act No. 657/2004 Coll. on Heat Energy ("Heat Act"), Act No. 391/2015 Coll. on Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes and on Amendments and Supplements to Certain Acts ("ADR Act"), Act No. 51/1988 Coll. on Mining Activities, Explosives, and the State Mining Administration ("Mining Act"), and Act No. 71/2013 Coll. on the Provision of Subsidies under the Competence of the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic, primarily due to the transposition of European legislation regarding the revision of the current setup of the internal electricity market in the European Union ("EU"), the promotion of renewable energy, the internal market for natural gas, renewable gases and hydrogen, and methane emissions (Document No. LP/2025/96).

The submitted draft act, among other things, transposes and implements requirements concerning the reform of the internal electricity market design, particularly as regulated by the Regulation (EU) 2024/1747 of the European Parliament and of the Council of June 13, 2024, on improving the design of the electricity market ("Regulation (EU) 2024/1747"), and the Directive (EU) 2024/1711 of the European Parliament and of the Council of June 13, 2024, on improving the design of the electricity market in the Union ("Directive (EU) 2024/1711"). The trends in the redesign of the internal electricity market include, among others, the effective achievement of the objectives of the Energy Union and the goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest, as well as the integration of new system elements and new participants into the electricity market.

Another legislative act partially addressed by this transposition into Slovak law is Directive (EU) 2023/2413 of the European Parliament and of the Council of October 18, 2023.
The submitted draft act also represents a partial transposition of Directive (EU) 2024/1788 of the European Parliament and of the Council of June 13, 2024, on common rules for internal markets in renewable gas, natural gas, and hydrogen, which amends Directive (EU) 2023/1791 and repeals Directive 2009/73/EC.

The draft amendment to the Energy Act introduces the following key changes:

• Legal regulation of electricity market participants,
• Legal regulation of flexible connection contracts to support the development of renewable energy sources in areas with limited or no connection capacity to the grid,
• Legal regulation of fixed-price electricity supply contracts or combined electricity supply contracts for a definite period, along with other related changes in the field of consumer protection,
• Expansion of the obligations of distribution system operators to publish on their websites data on the number of accepted and rejected connection requests, available distribution capacity and its calculation, information on conditions for reserving distribution capacity, information on submitting connection requests and related conditions, and submission of required documents for connection requests in electronic form,
• Legal regulation of risk management by electricity suppliers,
• Legal regulation of support mechanisms through balancing regime contracts for electricity production from nuclear fuel,
• Legal regulation of the assessment of flexibility needs in the electricity system,
• Legal regulation of administrative offenses and fines related to methane emissions.

The draft act further:

• Regulates the already existing activity of electricity sharing by consumers, which until now in Slovakia was primarily governed at the level of secondary legislation, but the revised Directive (EU) 2024/1711 regulates sharing in more detail than the original Directive (EU) 2019/944,
• Introduces a new market activity — the activity of a sharing organizer — which was not previously covered by any existing business activities in the energy sector. The activity of a sharing organizer will be subject to a notification regime, with the aim of supporting the development of electricity sharing among consumers and facilitating administrative and related procedures for implementing electricity sharing,
• Grants end consumers the right to participate in electricity sharing in a non-discriminatory manner so that no end consumers are excluded from participation,
• Prohibits suppliers from conditioning the conclusion of an electricity supply contract or combined electricity supply contract on the prohibition of electricity sharing or the limitation of the amount of electricity that can be shared,
• Provides that a consumption or delivery point may only be assigned to one sharing group at a time and protects active consumers against unfair and discriminatory treatment by balancing responsible parties, by explicitly stating that consumption and delivery points assigned to the same sharing group may belong to different balancing groups, in order to meet the requirements of the directive,
• Specifies that other active consumers in the business sector, beyond small and medium-sized enterprises, may also share electricity, but only from electricity generation facilities with an installed capacity of up to 6 MW,
• Introduces the possibility of direct support for the production of electricity from nuclear fuel after July 2027 through a balancing regime contract for electricity production from nuclear fuel.

The Ministry of Economy is also submitting the draft amendment to the Energy Act due to the partial transposition of the so-called 4th Energy Package in the gas sector.

The partial transposition focuses mainly on regulating the certification of hydrogen transmission network operators and adjusting the rules for the functioning of the internal hydrogen market.

The draft amendment to the Regulation Act introduces, among other things, the following main changes:

• Expansion of the existing powers of the Regulatory Office for Network Industries (hereinafter referred to as "RONI")  in connection with the above-mentioned changes to the Energy Act and the requirements of Directive (EU) 2024/1711,
• Expansion of RONI’s existing monitoring powers regarding the application of electricity supply contracts and combined electricity supply contracts with a fixed price for a definite period, as well as monitoring the removal of unjustified barriers to electricity sharing,
• Legal regulation related to the introduction of a peak time consumption reduction product,
• Supplementing the regulation in the event of the declaration of an electricity price crisis at the EU or regional level.

The draft amendment to the Renewable Energy Sources Promotion Act mainly introduces the following changes:

• Legal regulation of the principle of so-called cascading use of wood biomass according to the highest economic and environmental added value,
• Legal regulation of the support mechanism through a balancing regime contract for the production of electricity from selected renewable sources,
• Legal regulation for the introduction of a mechanism for issuing credits for electricity from renewable sources used in transport, including the method of their issuance, registration, trading, and application,
• Legal regulation for renewable energy targets in the transport and industrial sectors,
• Legal regulation of obligations related to the production of biofuels, bioliquids, and fuels from forest biomass.

The proposed effective date for the act is January 1, 2026, except for paragraphs 35, 44, and 45 of Article III, where effectiveness is proposed for September 1, 2026, and except for Article VII, where effectiveness is proposed for November 1, 2025.

The current status of the legislative process can be monitored at this link.

■     Draft decree of the Regulatory Office for Network Industries (RONI) establishing a template for the application for a license to operate in heat energy

On March 31, 2025, the comment procedure began for the draft decree of RONI establishing a template for the application for a license to operate in the field of heat energy (legislative process no.: LP/2025/110).

We informed you about this draft in our Monitoring for the month of February 2025.

As we have mentioned, the aim of the draft decree is to establish a template for the application for the issuance of a license to operate in the field of heat energy and for the proposal of a defined territory, in accordance with the enabling provision of § 5(8) of Act No. 657/2004 Coll. on Heat Energy, as amended, specifically the template for:

a)   an application by a natural person entrepreneur for the issuance of a license to operate in heat energy and for the proposal of a defined territory,

b)  an application by a legal entity for the issuance of a license to operate in heat energy and for the proposal of a defined territory.

Currently, the template for the application is set forth by the Decree of RONI No. 212/2005 Coll., which established the original form.

The proposed changes stem from the adoption of Act No. 363/2022 Coll., which amends the Act on Renewable Energy Sources Support, and Act No. 128/2024 Coll., which amends the Act on Regulation. The draft decree also reflects experiences gained from substantive regulation proceedings regarding the issuance of licenses to operate in heat energy.

The decree is proposed to come into effect on July 1, 2025, to allow for a reasonable period of familiarization with the new regulations. The public comment procedure will last 15 working days until April 22, 2025.

The current status of the legislative process can be followed at this link.

■     RONI reminds energy and heat sector license holders of the obligation to request data updates

In a notice dated May 26, 2025, RONI reminds holders of licenses for business activities in the energy sector of their obligation to submit a written request to RONI by June 30, 2025, to update information on the owner of electro-energy equipment used for the production, transmission, distribution, and storage of gas, equipment for the transportation of fuels or oil, equipment for filling pressure vessels, or equipment for the distribution of liquefied hydrocarbon gas in their license.

This obligation to submit a written request to RONI by June 30, 2025, to update ownership information also applies to holders of licenses for business activities in the heat energy sector, specifically concerning the owner of a heat energy system or part thereof.

RONI warns that failure to comply with these obligations under the Energy Act (§ 96n(3)) and the Heat Act (§ 38af(3)) will result in the mandatory imposition of a fine on the license holder.

You can find more details about this notice at this link.

■     RONI announces a reduction of SST tariffs by almost 20%

On April 1, 2025, RONI announced that on its own initiative, it had called upon The Slovak Electricity Transmission System (Slovenská elektrizačná prenosová sústava, a.s., hereinafter referred to as "SEPS") and The organizer of the short-term electricity market (Organizátor krátkodobého trhu s elektrinou - OKTE, a.s., hereinafter referred to as "OKTE") to review the system services tariff (SST).

RONI stated that during this review, it identified room for price reductions. In the subsequent pricing procedure, RONI reduced the SST for consumers in Group 2 (consumption over 1 GWh/year) by -19.24%, and for consumers in Group 3 (consumption over 100 GWh/year) by -18.80%.

According to RONI, this reduction in SST tariffs will help lower costs for Slovak businesses, representing a significant step toward strengthening their competitiveness in both the European and global markets, ultimately benefiting domestic consumers as well.

You can find more details about RONI’s announcement HERE.

■     SEPS published the maximum prices for the provision of ancillary services

SEPS announced on its website that RONI Decision No. 0312/2025/E dated March 31, 2025, regarding the determination of maximum prices for the provision of ancillary services from April 1, 2025, to December 31, 2027, has been published.

The decision is available HERE.

You can read more at this link.

■     SEPS published the amount of the system services tariff

SEPS also announced on its website the publication of RONI Decision No. 0313/2025/E dated March 31, 2025, by which RONI set the system services tariffs for the period from April 1, 2025, to December 31, 2027.

The decision is available HERE.

You can read more at this link. 

■     Envirofond published a new call for businesses exposed to carbon leakage risk

On April 10, 2025, Envirofond published a new Call K-1/2025 on its website for the submission of applications for grants to operations that are likely exposed to actual carbon leakage risk due to significant indirect costs that arise from the reflection of greenhouse gas emissions-related costs in electricity prices.

Assistance under the scheme will be provided on an annual basis in the form of compensation in the following year after the costs were incurred.

The deadline for submitting applications is June 10, 2025.

The full text of the call is available at this link.

Further details can be found HERE.

■     SIEA to announce a call from the Slovakia Program (Program Slovensko) focused on supporting energy efficiency and renewable energy use in businesses

On April 4, 2025, the Slovak Innovation and Energy Agency (Slovenská inovačná a energetická agentúra, hereinafter referred to as "SIEA") announced on its website that it will launch a call from the Slovakia Program (Program Slovensko) in the 15th calendar week of this year, aimed at supporting energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources in businesses.

The support will primarily focus on improving energy efficiency in businesses and the use of renewable energy sources (RES) in businesses based on active electricity consumers, self-consumers of energy from RES, and communities generating energy from RES.

Eligible applicants may include micro, small, medium, and large enterprises, as well as entities entering into economic competition, regardless of their legal form or method of financing. Projects can be implemented throughout Slovakia.

The minimum amount of support per project is 50,000 euros, and the maximum amount cannot exceed 3 million euros. The maximum contribution rate can be up to 65%, depending on the size of the business and the activity implemented.

Through a single application, support can be obtained for two types of measures. Almost 43 million euros are allocated for improving the energy efficiency of businesses, and over 24 million euros for the use of renewable energy sources.

Supported energy efficiency measures will relate to buildings, as well as other areas in businesses.

Support for improving building efficiency can be obtained if the building achieves a planned primary energy savings of at least 30%. The support intensity will reflect the achieved savings.

The application for the non-repayable financial contribution must include an energy audit.

The applicant will be required to complete the implementation of all main project activities within 36 months from the effective date of the NFP contract.

Support for the use of renewable energy sources in energy supply systems is focused on the installation of devices, energy storage, and the introduction of systems for monitoring, optimization, and energy consumption management.

Further details can be found at this link.

■     SIEA, in cooperation with the Ministry of Economy, launches the Green to Businesses (Zelená podnikom) project

On March 31, 2025, SIEA announced on its website that, in cooperation with the Ministry of Economy, it is launching the Green to Businesses (Zelená podnikom) project.

Through vouchers, businesses can obtain financial support for preparing an energy audit and installing equipment that uses renewable energy sources: photovoltaic panels, heat pumps, solar collectors, wind turbines, and energy storage systems.

Micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, as well as sole proprietors from all over Slovakia, can receive financial support. “Small businesses and operations based in family houses, such as car workshops or small bakeries, can apply as well. Our goal is to help entrepreneurs reduce energy costs and strengthen their energy independence,” stated the Director General of SIEA.

The maximum amount of support per business is 50,000 euros. A business can receive the support of 40% of eligible costs, or up to 45% if it proves that more than 80% of the energy produced is used within the business, with at least half of it being used in the business itself. The voucher will reimburse 45% of the eligible costs for the energy audit. Installation limits are set at 250 kW of electricity, with no limits for heating.

Launch Timeline:

• April 2025 – Publication of conditions
• End of April 2025 – Registration of applicants
• May 2025 – Submission of applications and launch of individual allocations
• May – July 2025 – Gradual opening of allocations by technology type and region

The total budget for the Green to Businesses project is 66,560,948.90 euros (44.4 million euros for less developed regions and 22.1 million euros for more developed regions).

Further details can be found at this link.

■     Guideline from the Ministry of Economy on providing compensation to selected gas market participants

In March 2025, the Ministry of Economy published a guideline on its website regarding the provision of compensation to selected participants in the gas market in connection with setting the maximum tariffs for household gas consumers and selected vulnerable gas consumers in 2025, in order to comply with the Government Regulation of the Slovak Republic No. 386/2024 Coll., which sets the tariffs for household gas consumers and other selected vulnerable gas consumers.

The guideline is binding for gas market participants who charge tariffs for household gas consumers and selected vulnerable gas consumers based on decisions from the RONI and who are subject to the obligations under the government regulation.

The guideline from the Ministry of Economy is available at this link.

■     Guideline from the Ministry of Economy – details of the mechanism for ongoing compensation payments to gas suppliers

In March 2025, the Ministry of Economy also published on its website another guideline, which provides the details of the mechanism for ongoing compensation payments to gas suppliers for household gas consumers in connection with the implementation of Government Regulation No. 384/2024 Coll. of the Slovak Republic.

The guideline is intended for all gas suppliers who supply gas to households based on pricing decisions from the RONI and relevant legal regulations, and who are subject to the obligations under the mentioned government regulation.

The guideline from the Ministry of Economy is available at this link.

■     Guideline from the RONI for RDS operators regarding invoicing access payments

On March 18, 2025, RONI announced on its website that it is issuing a guideline for invoicing payments for access to the distribution system by the user of the distribution system.

ÚRSO advises operators of regional distribution systems (RDS) that, according to Section 23, Paragraph 12 of RONI Decree No. 154/2024 Coll., which establishes pricing regulation in electricity distribution and certain conditions for regulated activities in the electricity sector, RDS operators are not permitted to invoice the payment for access to the distribution system for the relevant month according to Paragraph 11 of this decree if the user of the RDS at the connection and delivery point simultaneously operates at one connection point:

• A facility for electricity generation from water energy with a total installed capacity of up to 1 MW, or
• A pumped storage hydroelectric power plant, or
• A certified facility exclusively for providing ancillary services to the transmission system operator or exclusively for supplying or receiving regulating electricity, and submits confirmation from the transmission system operator regarding the provision of ancillary services for the previous month no later than the fifth day of the following month.

More information on this announcement can be found at this link.

■     RONI announces change in the calculation of access payment to the distribution system for selected SSD tariffs

On March 3, 2025, RONI informed about the change in the calculation of the payment for access to the distribution system for selected tariffs of The Central Slovak Distribution (Stredoslovenská distribučná, a.s., hereinafter referred to as "SSD"), effective from July 1, 2025.

The announced change concerns households with tariffs D5, D6, D7, and D8, where approximately 80,000 distribution system connection points are currently registered in the SSD network. According to SSD’s calculations, no changes are expected for most connection points on their invoices. For the remaining connection points, the change is expected to result in an adjustment of a few dozen euros annually.

RONI states that the price list effective from January 1, 2025, provides SSD with enough room to inform households about the possibility of adjusting the size of the circuit breaker or changing the tariff. The change does not affect electricity producers and suppliers, but it is expected to improve the availability of connection capacity with network operators.

RONI also recommends that consumers with affected tariffs consult the need for the size of their existing circuit breaker with experts to avoid unnecessary costs in the future. Information on the size of the circuit breaker can be found on the breaker itself, in the connection agreement, in the distribution portal, and on the billing invoice. The procedure for changing the circuit breaker is published on the SSD website, where consumers can also find information about authorized persons who can perform the replacement.

■     SIEA announces new rules for the allocation of heating and hot water costs

On March 17, 2025, SIEA informed on its website about the changes in the rules for the allocation of heating costs in apartment buildings in 2025.

SIEA states in its report that one of the main objectives of the Ministry of Economy Decree No. 503/2022 Coll., which was prepared in collaboration with the Association of Heat and Water Allocators Slovakia, the Slovak Trade Inspection, and SlEA, was to ensure that heating and hot water costs for apartment building owners are allocated as fairly as possible, and that the new decree includes solutions for current heating supply methods.

In 2024, the decree was amended by amendment No. 337/2024 Coll., with the aim of expanding the possibilities for apartment and non-residential space owners to decide on the allocation of heating and hot water preparation costs.

According to SIEA, the new allocation method should mitigate the discrepancies in unit costs between individual apartments, which were mainly caused by an inappropriate ratio between the basic and consumption components. When most heating costs were allocated based on consumption measured by proportional heat cost allocators or specified meters, the heat transfer between apartments and heat losses during distribution were not adequately considered. As a result, some apartment owners were paying several times higher amounts for heating because heat spread from their apartments into neighbouring unoccupied or intentionally unheated apartments through dividing structures (walls, ceilings) between them.

The current legal framework recommends allocating total heating costs based on 60% basic component according to the floor area of the apartment and 40% based on the measured consumption, with the option for owners to decide on changes. A new feature is that the decree stipulates that the share of the basic component cannot be less than 30%, and introduces a control mechanism to ensure the fair distribution of costs. According to this mechanism, the difference between the apartment with the minimum unit price for heating per square meter of the total heated space and the apartment with the maximum price per square meter should not exceed 2.85 times.

Further information on this topic is available at this link.

■     RONI on energy certificates

On March 19, 2025, RONI published a response on its website addressing consumer questions regarding energy certificates.

In its report, RONI states that energy certificates are an important tool for assessing the energy performance of buildings; however, their authenticity and accuracy are crucial for maintaining trust in the system.

Certification must be carried out only by authorized persons in accordance with Act No. 555/2005 Coll. and implementing regulations. Part of this process includes a physical inspection of the property, during which the necessary input data are obtained.

RONI, which performs state supervision in this area, warns that if an authorized person does not follow the law, they risk a fine of up to 5,000 euros.

RONI also emphasizes that the goal of energy certificates is to promote transparency and responsible energy management. Therefore, consumers should be aware of their rights and obligations in this area.

■     OKTE announces the evaluation of the public consultation on the technical specification of external system Interfaces v1.20

On March 27, 2025, OKTE informed the public that a public consultation was held from March 6, 2025, to March 16, 2025, regarding the planned changes to the technical specification of external interfaces for market participants for the Market Organizer Information System XMtrade®/ISOT v1.20 (hereinafter referred to as "TŠVD").

OKTE stated that one market participant participated in the public consultation, and the comments along with OKTE's responses are available HERE.

OKTE also announced that the proposal for the technical specification of external system interfaces v1.20, incorporating the comments received, has been duly published HERE. This version of the TŠVD will enter into force on June 11, 2025, along with the launch of the 15 MTU project.

More information can be found at this link.

■     OKTE announces the launch of a new version of the intraday market (IDM)

On March 27, 2025, OKTE published an announcement stating that on April 1, 2025, at 21:00, it will launch a new version of the intraday market (IDM) on the ISOT platform in the production environment.

In its announcement, OKTE states that the new version of the IDM on the ISOT platform brings numerous improvements and new features, including:

1.         New Web Interface for the Trading Screen:
The main benefits of the new trading screen include:

• a new design,
• faster display speed,
• greater resilience,
• more flexible display options,
• more detailed filtering,
• the ability to move the trading screen into a new window,
• drag-and-drop order import.

2.        New API and WebSocket Interfaces:
The new Data Exchange Technical Specification v1.19 is effective as of April 1, 2025.

Further information is available at this link.

More details on this topic can be found at this link.

■     OKTE announces the evaluation of the public consultation on changes to the OKTE operating rules

On March 31, 2025, OKTE published an announcement regarding the evaluation of the public consultation on the proposed amendment of the OKTE Operating Rules.
The public consultation began on March 14, 2025, with March 28, 2025, being the last day to submit comments.

According to OKTE, the amendment to the Operating Rules is related to legislative changes effective from January 1, 2025, and the 15' MTU project. Additionally, the text of the Operating Rules was refined based on practical application experience.

Three affected market participants took part in the public consultation, and a total of 11 comments were submitted, of which 8 were accepted.

The text of the comments along with OKTE's responses is available HERE. The revised wording of the Operating Rules based on the accepted comments is available HERE.

Detailed information about the public consultation is available on the OKTE website at this link.

■     SSD announces the conclusion of the public consultation on the draft SSD operating rules

On March 17, 2025, SSD published an announcement stating that the public consultation on the company's draft Operating Rules concluded on March 15, 2025, at 00:00.
The record of the public consultation is expected to be published in the coming days.

More information can be found at this link.

■     RONI supports the use of biomethane

On March 10, 2025, RONI announced on its website that it supports the injection of biomethane into gas networks, primarily to make the most efficient use of the existing gas infrastructure in Slovakia.

RONI stated that Slovakia has an extensive gas infrastructure network (the second densest in the EU), but it has seen a decline in gas consumption due to savings measures, the transition of consumers to other energy sources instead of natural gas, and a significant reduction in Russian gas transit through Ukraine to Slovakia. In this context, RONI mentioned that it has created favorable legislative conditions to support the use of the gas network through biomethane injection.

Currently, according to RONI, one biomethane plant is connected to the distribution network in Slovakia, producing biomethane from biodegradable municipal waste since 2021. The connection of five more biomethane plants is expected in the near future.

According to the chairman of RONI, approximately one-third of the roughly one hundred existing biogas plants in Slovakia are technically capable of connecting to the gas network. Slovakia thus has the potential to replace about ten percent of its current natural gas consumption with biomethane, representing a positive step towards sustainability and energy independence.

More information is available on RONI’s website at this link.

■     RONI on the end of support for so-called green energy

On March 7, 2025, RONI announced the upcoming end of guaranteed feed-in tariff support after 15 years for many renewable energy sources.

This end of support affects photovoltaic, wind, biomass, and hydroelectric power plants.

RONI believes that extending the support would place an additional burden on public finances, create pressure for potential electricity price increases, and could discriminate against new market players. RONI is convinced that electricity producers should be able to operate independently on the market without reliance on state subsidies.

The chairman of RONI expressed his belief that the main future principle of renewable energy development lies in the consumption and use of electricity and heat directly at the place of production. Such local use of energy reduces the need for building and maintaining extensive transmission infrastructure, contributing to the overall efficiency of the energy system.

More information is available at this link.

■     OKTE invites market participants to register for international testing of the 15’ MTU project

On April 1, 2025, OKTE published an invitation for joint coordinated testing of the 15’ MTU project on the day-ahead market at the international SDAC level.

OKTE informs that market participants will be able to comprehensively test the entire process — from submitting orders in both time granularities to evaluating the day-ahead market in 15-minute intervals. Testing will be available through the ISOT system’s web interface as well as via external communication defined in the Data Exchange Technical Specification v1.20. For the purposes of organized testing, the TEST environment will be used, designated for pre-production versions of the XMtrade®/ISOT system.

The testing period will run from April 7, 2025, to May 15, 2025.

A summary of specific test scenarios with market participants is available in the information package for coordinated testing, published in English on the Nemo Committee website. The testing schedule and scenario descriptions in Slovak are available in the webinar presentation for the 15’ MTU project.

To register, participants must send an email to market@okte.sk with the subject "SDAC 15’ MTU Testing - Registration" including the required information published on the ÚRSO website.

More detailed information from OKTE is available HERE.

Further details can be found at this link.

■     Public consultation on the document "Ten-Year Transmission System Development Plan for 2026–2035" underway

On March 28, 2025, SEPS announced that a public consultation on the document "Ten-Year Transmission System Development Plan for 2026–2035" is taking place from March 28, 2025, to April 11, 2025 (inclusive).

Participation in the public consultation is possible by submitting comments via the attached form to the email address: konzultacie.dprps@sepsas.sk.

All information and materials related to the public consultation are available HERE.

Further details can be found at this link.  

■     Successful transition to a 15-Minute trading interval for intraday trading on the Slovak-Polish border

On March 20, 2025, SEPS announced on its website that, as of March 19, 2025, the fifth wave of transitioning to a 15-minute trading interval (15 min Market Time Unit, "MTU") for intraday trading was successfully launched.

In this wave, 32 cross-border connections and 6 internal borders transitioned from a 60-minute MTU to a 15-minute MTU. Among them was the cross-border connection between Slovakia and Poland.

SEPS stated that this change on the SK-PL border unified the trading granularity to 15 minutes across all three borders of Slovakia’s bidding zone, i.e., SK-CZ, SK-HU, and SK-PL, within the Single Intraday Coupling (SIDC) electricity market.

SEPS expects that the introduction of the 15-minute trading interval in continuous intraday trading (XBID) and intraday auctions (IDA) across nearly all of Europe will significantly boost the efficiency of the intraday market.

More information on this topic can be found at this link.

■     Changes in SEPS technical conditions documents

On March 5, 2025, SEPS announced that on March 3, 2025, the company’s management approved changes in the technical conditions documents, primarily due to the need to align their content with the revised secondary energy legislation.

The changes affect documents A, E, and F. The updated documents are available HERE.

More information can be found at this link.

■     The Ministry of Environment published a draft methodology for the development of wind energy as part of the recovery plan tasks

On April 2, 2025, the Ministry of Environment of the Slovak Republic (Ministerstvo životného prostredia Slovenskej republiky, hereinafter referred to as "Ministry of Environment"), announced the publication of a draft methodology for the development of wind energy as part of fulfilling tasks outlined in the Recovery Plan.

The Ministry of Environment informs that the document is the result of collaborative work by relevant entities and experts grouped in the interdepartmental working group.

The document will be refined during 2025 based on further feedback.

More information is available HERE.

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

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