The taking away of support for producers of energy from renewable sources will be investigated by the European Commission, as has been confirmed at talks between Slovak producers of clean energy in Brussels, said Slovak Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPI) acting director Pavel Šimon. "The unlawful taking away of support guaranteed by law by distribution companies threatens 1,200 companies and as many as 3,600 employees. Nevertheless, a more serious concern is that if it's possible to get away with such a move in 2015, it may be repeated in the years ahead. It would mean that producers who are guaranteed support for a whole 15 years wouldn't see a single cent of this support", said Simon. The association has appealed to European Commission Vice-president Maroš Šefčovič and Commissioner for Energy and Climate Action Miguel Arias Cañete, and it also wants to complain to the Slovak Constitutional Court.
Producers of electricity from renewable sources were supposed to have presented to distribution companies and the Slovak Office for the Regulation of Network Industries (URSO) their production plans for this year by last August. Based on this data, the regulatory office sets the final prices of electricity for households and industry. Around 1,200 producers didn't meet the requirement, however, the office claims. The producers stress that they did make the announcements on time, but some of them did so only shortly before the deadline expired, and it could be the case that the distribution companies didn't receive them on time. The Slovak Office for the Regulation of Network Industries (URSO) said earlier this year that the association has pointed its finger at an innocent entity, as it itself didn't have any objections when the related law was being amended.
