A new levy on excess revenues made by electricity producers was approved by the government on Monday on the basis of the EU regulation, which orders member states to tax the extraordinary profits of selected power plants and distribute them to households.
The levy will be paid by domestic and foreign producers with an installed capacity of over 0.9 megawatts, as well as energy suppliers. In addition to small energy sources, the energy produced in hydropower plants or from biomethane will also be exempt from paying the levy.
The levy amount will be 90% of excess income, and it will cover the period from 1 December 2022 to 31 December 2024.
Although the EU regulation mentions a price ceiling of €180 per megawatt hour, Bratislava will exercise the option to apply it differently for individual sources. The ceiling for the market income obtained from the sale of one megawatt-hour MWh of electricity will be determined by the government in a special regulation ranging from €50 to €250 depending on the type of source.
However, the draft law made the Renewable energy industry nervous. According to The Slovak Association of the Photovoltaic Industry and RES (SAPI), the government’s decision is in “absolute contradiction” with the EU regulation.
“Despite the clear wording of the EU Regulation, the Slovak government went further with the new measure than was requested and wants to cap even producers who have lower purchase prices, such as the current market prices of electricity and at the same time the reference level of 180 EUR/MWh,” said SAPI director Ján Karaba.
He added that the government “abused” the EU regulation to “deal another blow” to renewables, which may have “liquidating consequences” for some electricity producers.
Once approved by parliament, the new tax should enter into force on 1 December.
(Marián Koreň | EURACTIV.sk)
Source: euractiv.com
