Fico's cabinet finally approved energy aid. Citizen Kažimír with a salary of 20,000 will also receive it, the opposition criticises

The price of gas for households and the price of gas and electricity for selected vulnerable customers will remain at the 2024 level next year, according to a regulation approved by the government on Friday.

"The content of the draft government regulation is the capping of gas supply prices for household gas consumers and electricity and gas supply prices for selected vulnerable consumers for 2025, at the level of 2024, " the Economy Ministry said in the approved material.

The cabinet of Robert Fico (Smer-SD) also approved regulations that cap the levels of tariffs for access to the distribution network, tariffs for gas distribution and tariffs for covering losses in gas distribution for 2025.

The adopted regulations also include the method of compensating the supplier for the difference between the price determined by the regulatory authority and the price capped by the government regulation. According to the current wording of the regulations, the overpayment from the 2024 compensation will also be included in the compensation.

At the 2023 level

The price of heat in 2025 for households and selected heat end-users will also be capped at the 2023 level.

"The maximum price of heat for end-users in residential buildings and end-users of heat in social service facilities registered in the register of social services, operations of facilities for social protection of children and social guardianship, student homes will be capped at the level of 2023 in 2025," the Ministry of Economy specified in the draft government regulations.

According to the Ministry of Economy, the draft government regulation responds to the energy crisis and its negative consequences, which are manifested in the household sector. It proposes a way to address the situation associated with the high increase in heat prices in the Slovak Republic and its impact on heat consumers in residential buildings.

It is proposed to cover the difference between the heat price approved or determined by the Office for Regulation of Network Industries (ÚRSO) and the heat price determined by the Government of the Slovak Republic by regulation by means of a reimbursement from the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic.

Criticism of the opposition

The Slovakia Movement has commented on the government's actions. It claims that this is proof that the coalition parties lied before the elections.

"With today's decision to cap selected tariffs, the government has definitively confirmed that the pre-election promise of cheaper energy was a lie," said the movement's spokesman, Matúš Bystriansky, in a statement.

"Despite the fact that Smer, the Voice and SNS criticized our set-up to help people with energy while still in opposition and promised cheaper energy, they failed to deliver on this promise as well and just copied our solution. Energy will not be cheaper and help with energy prices will not be targeted, as the coalition parties promised before the elections," he added.

SaS also has a critical attitude towards energy aid. The latter says that it is another government squandering of public finances, moreover at a time of consolidation.

"Robert Fico's government has once again deceived the people. The invisible Minister Saková postponed the help with energy prices until the last possible moment. And she chose the worst possible option, namely across-the-board aid. Thus, even those who do not need the help will receive it. For example, even a citizen Kažimír with a salary of 20 000 and subsidised energy will be able to heat his swimming pool," criticised Karol Galek, a member of parliament for SaS.

According to SaS, the only correct solution was targeted aid.

Galek also points out that Andrej Danko had previously openly called on Denisa Saková to publish a plan for targeted aid, otherwise she would suffer the same fate as former Minister Zuzana Dolinková.

The KDH is also talking about targeted aid. "By approving the flat-rate energy aid for gas and heat in the amount of 235 million euros, the Slovak government has shown its inability to calculate targeted aid for the needy. It has had more than a year to do so and has not come up with any concrete solution," commented Lenka Kovár, spokesperson for the movement.

"Public finances will be very tight in 2025, so the government coalition should have focused on those residents who need this assistance the most - vulnerable people, single-parent households or seniors, and not support those who do not need energy assistance at all," the movement added.

For its part, the PS Movement recalls that the government had 14 months to come up with a system of targeted energy assistance.

"There are no surprises. For a long time, the government pretended that it was looking for a real solution to energy prices. They kept people in limbo for months, and at the last minute they announced that it had worked out as it always does. We have been stacking the energy bill on top of millionaires. And we all do - even the poorest among us," said PS MEP Ivan Štefunko on energy assistance.

Watch the government press conference:

Watch ta3 editor Diana Štrusová's input before the government meeting: