The largest coal-fired power plant in Slovenia, which generates around a quarter of the electricity consumed there, is threatened with bankruptcy next year without government intervention. According to media reports, the Slovenian Energy Ministry is planning a solution that involves limited operation of the Šoštanj coal-fired power plant (TEŠ). The plant is primarily intended to provide heat for around 35,000 residents in the northern region, while electricity production is to be significantly reduced.
According to unofficial information, TEŠ and the associated Velenje lignite mine, which belong to the state-owned energy company HSE, are expected to make a loss of 150 to 200 million euros in 2025. Because the parent company is no longer allowed to finance the power plant due to EU rules on state aid, this would lead to insolvency proceedings, it was said.
Bankruptcy would primarily jeopardize the heat supply in the Šalek Valley, as there are no alternative heating options in the short term. In addition, around 2,500 people would lose their jobs, most of them working in the mine, whose only customer is the power plant. The state would also be left with EUR 286 million in debt that TEŠ still owes the European Investment Bank (EIB). In 2013, the power plant took out a EUR 440 million loan from the EIB for modernization, which is secured by state guarantees.
The Ministry of Energy is now preparing an emergency law to ensure limited continued operation of the power plant and the mine, as well as the heat supply in the region. This is expected to cost the state around 150 million euros annually. The idea is also to separate the two companies from the HSE group and have them managed directly by the Slovenian State Holding (SDH). This is intended to protect the state-owned energy company, which is otherwise profitable and is expected to play an important role in the energy transition. According to the media, the corresponding law is expected to be passed in November.
Although TEŠ generates around a quarter of the electricity in Slovenia, the media say that stopping electricity production would not be a problem at the moment. The electricity can be bought on the stock exchanges for half the price of TEŠ, reported the business newspaper “Finance”. The coal-fired power plant has been making losses for years, last year the loss was almost 46 million euros. According to the original plans for the coal phase-out, TEŠ was to be closed by 2033 at the latest.
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