Monitoring of Energy Legislation March 2026

See the most important legal news in the field of energy for the month of March 2026.

RONI has opened several legislative processes that significantly impact the rules of the electricity and gas markets as well as price regulation. At the same time, it is presenting activities aimed at proposing measures at the EU level to reduce energy prices for industry.

The Government has approved an amendment to the Energy Act concerning targeted energy aid; however, the proposal is still pending parliamentary approval.

The Environmental Fund has launched Call MoF – 5/2026 focused on the modernisation of district heating, bringing significant financial allocation and support for projects in the areas of high-efficiency cogeneration (CHP), heat distribution networks, and energy storage. The MoE SR, in its call, has also published the results of a selection procedure for supporting high-efficiency CHP.

At P&P, we have prepared an article addressing the current status of the prolongation of support (so-called “repowering”).

Read more about these and many other interesting news in our monitoring for the month of March 2026, 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

■      Government approves amendment to the Energy Act – stricter rules for households and new regulatory tools

25 March 2026 – The Government of the Slovak Republic has approved a draft amendment to the Energy Act (Act No. 251/2012 Coll.) and related legislation (Act No. 253/1998 Coll. on residence registration, Act No. 657/2004 Coll. on thermal energy, Act No. 250/2012 Coll. on regulation in network industries, and Act No. 260/2025 Coll. on targeted energy aid). The proposal will now proceed to the National Council of the Slovak Republic for further legislative process.

The proposed legislation responds to practical application issues, in particular the misuse of preferential household tariffs by business entities. At the same time, it reflects current energy price developments and the need for more targeted energy aid, while granting the state broader regulatory tools in setting prices and support mechanisms.

Most of the proposed changes are expected to take effect from 1 July 2026, while certain provisions (e.g. in the area of residence registration) will become effective at a later stage.

More information is available HERE, and we will continue to keep you informed about further developments in the legislative process. (Available only in the Slovak language version)

2.2     POLÁČEK & PARTNERS

■      P&P: We continue to monitor support prolongation (repowering) – new article on recent developments

20 March 2026 – We have been closely following the topic of support prolongation (repowering) for electricity producers entitled to feed-in-tariff support since its introduction. In our latest article, “Support Prolongation 2026: Producers in the final year of investment,” we focus on recent developments, in particular the issue of economically eligible costs, their substantiation, and the expected inspections by RONI.

The article also highlights ongoing uncertainties in application practice, which may have significant implications for maintaining eligibility for feed-in-tariff support.

You can find more details in our article. (Available only in the Slovak language version)

2.3     REGULATORY OFFICE FOR NETWORK INDUSTRIES (RONI)
■      RONI to present solutions to reduce energy prices for industry at an international conference

27 March 2026 – RONI announced that it will present proposals for measures aimed at reducing energy costs for Slovak industry at the prestigious annual ERRA Annual Conference 2026 (27–28 April 2026 in Bratislava).

The proposed measures primarily include adjustments to tariffs and charges within its regulatory competences, as well as broader systemic proposals addressed to the Government of the Slovak Republic and the EU - such as support for long-term contracts, state guarantees, decoupling electricity prices from gas prices, and strengthening investments in energy efficiency.

More information is available in the press release HERE. (Available only in the Slovak language version)

■      RONI publishes guidance for the water sector on submission of actual data for 2025

18 March 2026 – RONI informed regulated entities in the water sector about the publication of guidance on the submission of actual data for regulated activities for 2025. The guidance is divided into three parts – general information, rules for entities with a price decision, and rules for entities to which the authority has issued a price confirmation.

Actual data for 2025 must be submitted no later than 31 May 2026.

More information is available in the press release HERE. (Available only in the Slovak language version)

■      RONI launches consultation on draft decrees and prepares major changes for electricity and gas from 1 July 2026

11 and 13 March 2026 – RONI announced the launch of a public consultation on four preliminary information notices in the electricity and gas sectors, specifically regarding proposed amendments to Decrees no. 207/2023 Coll., no. 154/2024 Coll., no. 147/2024 Coll., and no. 208/2023 Coll.

According to RONI, the reason for reopening these decrees is the need to reflect changed conditions since their adoption, in particular amendments to the Act on regulation in network industries and the Energy Act introduced by Act no. 259/2025 Coll.

The discussion on the preliminary information notices took place from 11 March 2026 to 24 March 2026. The formal inter-ministerial consultation within the legislative process is expected in April 2026.

RONI further indicated that the upcoming package of changes will bring extensive amendments to the rules of the electricity and gas markets, including changes related to the functioning of the internal market, price regulation, connection of new sources, electricity sharing, dynamic pricing, and rules for vulnerable customers. The authority also announced that the new rules are expected to take effect as early as 1 July 2026.

More information is available in the press releases HERE and HERE. (Available only in the Slovak language version)

■      RONI launches amendment of the price decree to reduce energy costs for industry

9 March 2026 – At a strategic meeting held on 9 March 2026, RONI discussed with representatives of the MoE SR and key industrial associations the energy competitiveness of Slovak industry and adopted a joint package of requests addressed to the European Commission.

RONI is immediately launching the process of amending the electricity price regulation decree, which it plans to bring into force from 1 July 2026, with the aim of reducing energy costs for energy-intensive enterprises.

More information is available in the press release HERE. (Available only in the Slovak language version)

■      RONI: enforcement activities resulted in over 310.000 EUR in fines and tangible relief for consumers

4 March 2026 – RONI published a press release on the results of its enforcement activities for 2025. The authority completed 116 inspections and identified 126 violations of the law in the electricity, heat, and water sectors, imposing fines totalling approximately 310.700 EUR.

The Chair of RONI highlighted that some entities charged customers unjustified costs amounting to 247.000 EUR which had to be reimbursed to consumers, representing direct financial relief. RONI thus reiterated that non-compliance does not pay off. The authority also handled 533 submissions from citizens and regulated entities, indicating a high level of public trust in its activities.

More information is available in the press release HERE. (Available only in the Slovak language version)

2.4     MINISTRY OF ECONOMY OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC (MoE SR)

■     MoE SR publishes results of the selection procedure for support of high-efficiency CHP

20 March 2026 – MoE SR published the results of a selection procedure for support of high-efficiency combined heat and power (CHP). The objective of the support scheme is to stimulate the construction of new installations and the expansion of existing technologies in order to reduce fuel consumption and emissions, while increasing energy efficiency in district heating systems.

A total of 31 applicants participated in the selection procedure, which was announced on 31 October 2025, covering 76 installations with a total installed capacity of 324,728 MW. The support was capped at a maximum price of EUR 119,08/MWh and a volume of 220 MW, with 65 installations being successful based on the lowest offered prices. The Ministry emphasized that CHP support contributes to energy security, the stability of the electricity system, and the fulfilment of European energy efficiency commitments.

The results of the selection procedure are available HERE. (Available only in the Slovak language version)

More information is available in the press release HERE. (Available only in the Slovak language version)

2.5     SHORT-TERM ELECTRICITY MARKET OPERATOR (OKTE)

■      OKTE warns sharing group administrators of the obligation to conclude a contract

20 March 2026 – OKTE informed sharing group administrators about a new legal obligation to conclude an Electricity Sharing Settlement Agreement with OKTE via the EDC system. Without concluding this agreement, it will not be possible to make any changes to a sharing group in which the entity acts as the administrator. The agreement may also be signed using a simple electronic signature without the need for a certificate.

OKTE also announced that, at the end of April, it will send an email to the affected entities specifying the exact date from which it will no longer be possible to create or modify a sharing group without first concluding this agreement. The deadline for compliance is preliminarily set at two months from the date of publication of the notice. 

Further details are available in the notice on the OKTE website. (Available only in the Slovak language version)

■     OKTE launches public consultation on amendments to its Operation Order

13 March 2026 – OKTE initiated a public consultation on proposed amendments to its Operation Order. The published changes mainly relate to developments in the area of guarantees of origin, while also affecting the rules for feed-in-tariff support and selected complaint and procedural processes. Comments could be submitted until 27 March 2026.

At a general level, the proposed amendments focus on clarifying processes between OKTE and market participants, introducing rules for new types of support, and providing a more detailed framework for the operation of guarantees of origin auctions. In practice, this means greater procedural precision in contract conclusion, complaint procedures, financial collateral requirements for auction participants, and the order-matching algorithm used in guarantees of origin auctions.

One comment was submitted during the consultation. The evaluation of the consultation process is available HERE. (Available also in the English language version)

More information is available HERE (Available also in the English language version), including the version of the OKTE Operation Order with tracked changes.

■      OKTE reminds of the deadline for cancellation guarantees of origin for 2025

11 March 2026 – OKTE alerted holders of guarantees of origin (GoOs) to the upcoming deadline for their cancellation for 2025, which is set no later than 31 March 2026. If the guarantees of origin are not cancelled by this date, they will not be included in the calculation of the energy mix for the Slovak domain or in the energy mix of individual suppliers.

The notice is therefore particularly important for entities that wish to ensure proper disclosure of the origin of energy in both the national and supplier-specific energy mix.

Further details are available in the notice on the OKTE website. (Available also in the English language version)

2.6     SLOVAK ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION SYSTEM (SEPS)

■      SEPS launches selection procedure for ancillary services for April 2026

3 March 2026 – SEPS announced the launch of a selection procedure for the procurement of ancillary services via the Damas Energy system, published on 16 March 2026. The procedure concerns the provision of ancillary services for the period from 1 April to 30 April 2026.

More information is available HERE. (Available only in the Slovak language version)

2.7     OTHERS

■     Environmental Fund launches Call MoF – 5/2026 (hybrid modernisation of district heating)

17 March 2026 – The Environmental Fund announced Call MoF – 5/2026 under the Modernisation Fund, aimed at supporting investments in the modernisation of energy systems, particularly in district heating, including high-efficiency combined heat and power (CHP), heat/cooling distribution networks, and energy storage. The objective is to increase energy efficiency and support the development of efficient district heating systems.

The call has an allocated budget of EUR 150 million, with applications to be submitted via the IS GRANT system from 19 March 2026 to 19 June 2026.

Alongside the call, additional supporting documents for applicants have been published, including an FAQ document and the application form available in the IS GRANT system, as well as the required annexes.

More information about the call and the related documents can be found HERE. (All available only in the Slovak language version).

You can download the monitoring for the month of March 2026 in PDF format here.

Subscribe to the monitoring of energy legislation.

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.