Minister Underscores Importance of Common Energy Policy

Maribor, 25 October

Economy Minister Andrej Vizjak has reiterated the importance of the EU forming a common energy policy in order to deal with the increasing challenges in ensuring a stable and cheap supply of energy.

Speaking at the Energy 06 conference in Maribor on Wednesday, Vizjak pointed out that a rise in prices of energy resources and relations with countries outside the EU who provide the bloc with energy had caused a stir in recent times.
In the given circumstances it is impossible for each EU member state to sort out energy issues alone, which is why the only solution is common policy in the field, Vizjak told the biggest annual energy conference in Slovenia.
With the era of energy self-sufficiency well and truly over - Slovenia now gets 53% of its energy needs from abroad - it is high time to find suitable solutions for ensuring stable and cheap energy, Vizjak added.
According to him, Slovenia is restructuring its energy sector in a bid to improve its competitiveness. The process will be concluded with the arrival of strategic partners with reach in Slovenia and outside.
"Slovenia currently lacks 500 megawatts of power; in the future it will need an extra 400 megawatts," Vizjak explained. According to him, the country must therefore examine all possible avenues for meeting demand, while the most feasible solution seems to be the construction of a second reactor at the Krsko Nuclear Power Plant.
Vizjak pointed out that the government had put the plans for a second reactor in the resolution on development projects for 2007-2023. The investment is worth EUR 2bn, which NEK will be able to pay fully from the energy it produces, he explained.
According to Vizjak, the second reactor of the Krsko N-Plant would be able to make electricity at 35 to 40 euros per megawatt hour, a very competitive price. However, he reiterated that the construction of a second reactor depended largely on the construction of a depository for radioactive waste.
Vizjak added that the government was not planning to sell its stakes in energy companies through privatisation but rather to enable fresh supply of capital that would be used to fund new projects. One such project is the construction of a EUR 600m thermal unit at the Sostanj Thermal Power Plant.
He said that gradual privatisation would enable companies to become more efficient while at the same time securing adequate funds for expansion, a key to breaking on to the wider European energy arena.
This was echoed by general manager of Slovenia's leading power producer, HSE, Joze Zagozen, who told the conference that his company was looking to invest in SE Europe.
According to him, HSE has earmarked more than 100 potential locations for the construction of hydro and thermal power plants. A total of 20 of these locations are undergoing in-depth analyses at the moment, he added.
Zagozen explained that HSE was interested in joint ventures with large European energy investors and added that there was significant interest in the privatisation of HSE from foreign and domestic companies.
The participants of the conference were also addressed by the head of the Directorate for Competition at the European Commission Herbert Ungerer. He stressed that Europe was facing a major challenge in ensuring benefits and choice for electricity users in the face of full liberalisation of the electricity market in mid-2007.

Minister Underscores Importance of Common Energy Policy

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