The privatisation of the state shares in power companies has been put on hold for now. The new leadership at the economy ministry, nominated by the political party Freedom and Solidarity (SaS), plans to deal with the sale of the state shares once the coronavirus crisis comes to an end. Before the general elections, SaS noted that the state is a bad owner and it will get rid of the state shares in companies where the situation enables it. “We will return to our original pre-election plan as soon as the emergency situation is lifted. This will apply only to those companies that operate on the free market and have a relevant market value. These plans have never concerned regulated or natural monopolies,“ state secretary at the Economy Ministry Karol Galek informed the portal vEnergetike.sk. The Economy Ministry did not specify which state shares could be put up for sale to strategic investors. Galek said that the ministry would certainly not sell, for instance, the power utility Slovenske Elektrarne, where the state is a 34-percent shareholder, in addition to regulated and natural monopolies. “We are not planning (privatisation – editor’s note) of the power utility Slovenske Elektrarne, since the completion of Mochovce NPP is a priority. The attitude of the former governments, led by the political party Smer, put Slovenske Elektrarne into a crisis situation. The company will be unable to overcome this situation without legislative and administrative support, as well as effective state supervision,“ Galek added.
Full story in Slovak: Štátne podiely v energofirmách pôsobiacich na voľnom trhu zatiaľ nepredajú, rozhodne sa po koronakríze
