The European Commission announced on Monday that it has approved - on the basis of European Union (EU) state aid rules - a €250 million Slovak scheme to partially compensate energy-intensive companies for indirect emission costs. The European Commission specified that the aid concerns companies that have to pay higher electricity prices resulting from the impact of carbon prices on the cost of electricity production - the so-called indirect emission costs incurred by them in the years 2021-2030 under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). The final payment will be made in 2031. The cut-off date for the 2021 payments will be 30 April 2023 due to exceptional circumstances relating to the current energy crisis. The maximum amount of aid per beneficiary will be 75% of the indirect emissions costs incurred. For the promotion of energy savings, the amount of aid is calculated on the basis of electricity efficiency benchmarks. In order to qualify for compensation, beneficiaries must either carry out certain energy audit recommendations or cover at least 30 % of their electricity consumption with carbon-free sources. According to the EC, the scheme is in line with the requirements set out in the ETS State Aid Guidelines - it supports the EU's climate and environmental objectives and those set out in the European Green Deal. On this basis, the EC has approved the scheme under EU state aid rules.
Source: TASR
