Bratislava (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Slovakia’s state electricity grid operator SEPS expressed that it will continue supplying electricity to Ukraine despite threats from PM Robert Fico.
Slovak Electricity Transmission System (SEPS) said that they will stick to the agreements made with Ukrenergo, the Ukrainian transmission system operator. Last spring, SEPS extended its contract for the supply of up to 150 MW of emergency electricity to Ukraine for another 12 months.
The agreement has been highly important for Ukraine, particularly since Russia continues attacking its energy infrastructure. Slovakia’s net electricity exports to Ukraine reached 2.43 TWh in the first 11 months of 2024. This is higher than in other years, demonstrating the increasing dependency of Ukraine on Slovak electricity
How has Russian gas transit sparked a controversy?
A few months ago, European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson said that the EU was ready to end the contract between Naftogaz and Gazprom for the transit of Russian gas via Ukraine by the end of the year. In reaction, Fico announced that Slovakia would carry out a series of negotiations to ensure the persistent supply of Russian gas through Ukraine after the current transit contract finishes.
In the meantime, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine would not transit Russian gas via its territory to stop additional income for Russia. He also drafted the conditions under which Ukraine would regard gas transit to Europe. In response to Ukraine’s statement that it will cease Russian gas transit through its territory after a contract with Gazprom expires, Prime Minister Fico threatened to cut off electricity supplies to Ukraine. His words triggered heated reactions over a possible impact on Slovakia’s energy policy and EU law obligations.
On January 1, Ukraine stopped the transit of Russian natural gas via its gas transportation procedure. Fico highlighted in his New Year’s address that the break of Russian gas transit through Ukraine would have severe consequences for the European Union but would not influence Moscow. Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico expressed the suspension of Russian gas transit via Ukraine as “Zelenskyy’s sabotage” and cautioned about potential cuts in support for Ukrainian refugees.
