Businesses will be eligible for aid to combat high energy prices under a €1.2 billion plan, which while adopted by the National Assembly Friday, some view as too little too late.
Businesses will be eligible for the subsidies if their cost of electricity, natural gas and steam increases by over 50% compared to 2021. The subsidies will cover between 40-80% of eligible expenses, depending on the type of aid.
A short-time work subsidy scheme will be available between 1 January and 31 March 2023, while the furlough scheme will be in place between 1 January and 30 June 2023. The subsidies will cover 80% of gross pay up to a maximum of the average gross pay for October 2022.
The subsidies for high prices of electricity, gas and steam are valued at €850 million, while the furlough and part-time work schemes are at €100 million. The law also entails a variety of liquidity loans, amounting to €250 million.
The scheme was drawn up under the premise that market prices of electricity would not exceed €350 per MWh, though this is currently often exceeded.
As a result, companies are saying that it will not help them sufficiently in 2023 given how high the offers are that they are currently receiving from electricity distributors for power scheduled for delivery next year.
Tibor Šimonka, the president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS), said Slovenian companies were receiving offers for an average of €460 per MWh.
Reduced by the subsidised amount, they could end up paying €316 per MWh on average, which is “still considerably higher than the price paid by our competition in Europe,” he added.
According to him, the better solution would be to set a ceiling on electricity prices, something the government has been reluctant to do for large businesses, though such a scheme is in place for SMEs.
Economy Minister Matjaž Han, while confident that the legislation will have a positive impact, acknowledged there were shortcomings.
“If we don’t achieve the competitiveness we all want, we’ll take new measures in the coming weeks or months,” he said.
(Sebastijan R. Maček | sta.si)
Source: euractiv.com
