BRATISLAVA, August 9, (WEBNOVINY) — Slovakia no longer needs to import electrical energy. The dominant Slovak power producer Slovenske Elektrarne, a.s. (SE) informed that Slovakia has become a net electricity exporter again after five years. In the first half of this year, 14.8 terawatt hours of electric energy were generated in Slovakia, which represents an increase of 4.6 percent in yearly terms. “The amount of energy generated in the first half of this year thus exceeded the amount produced in the same period of 2009 or 2007, which was also translated into the foreign trade balance, tipping the balance in favor of export for the first time since 2006, before the shutdown the first unit of the V1 nuclear power plant,” informed Slovenske Elektrarne in its monthly report.
Slovenske Elektrarne views the launch of the new steam-gas power plant in Malzenice into operation as well as boosting the overall installed capacity of two units of the Jaslovske Bohunice nuclear power plant to over 1,000 megawatts, to be the major driving force behind Slovakia becoming an electricity exporter again. “Solar power plants, the construction of which culminated at the end of the first half of this year — to allow investors to benefit from more advantageous terms for the purchase of electricity still in force — have also contributed,” specified Slovenske Elektrarne, which generated 11.4 terawatt hours of electric energy in its power plants in the first half of the year.
After last year’s 5-percent hike in electricity consumption, Slovenske Elektrarne expected this trend to continue in the January-June period of this year. However, Slovakia’s dominant power producer registered a year-on-year slowdown in electricity consumption growth to 2.6 percent as early as in January. This means that Slovakia’s consumption stands at about 98 percent of its pre-crisis level,” concluded Slovenske Elektrarne.
Slovenske Elektrarne is the largest electricity producer in Slovakia and number two power producer in the CEE region. Following its privatization in April 2006, Italian Enel S.p.A. holds 66 percent in the company. The Slovak Republic owns the remaining 34-percent stake through the government’s privatization agency, the National Property Fund. Its stockholders’ rights are executed by the Economy Ministry. SE operates installed capacity of 5,737 MW. It runs two nuclear plants, two thermal power plants and thirty-four hydropower plants.
SITA
