Slovak Democrats accuse PM Fico, Czech billionaire Křetínský of ‘grand gas theft’ over energy bills
23. 9. 2025 / Albín Sybera
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3 minuty
Slovak households face some of the highest gas bills in central Europe, non-parliamentary opposition Democrats said on September 18. Party energy expert Karel Hirman told local media that families were paying “brutally” inflated prices compared with neighbouring Czechia.
Hirman said households in Slovakia are charged €71.1 per MWh, while Czech households pay nearly €15 less per MWh, Aktuality.sk reported. That means families in Slovakia pay €250–300 more annually than Czechs, he said.
At
a press conference, Hirman, a former economy minister, accused
populist Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD), Czech billionaire Daniel
Křetínský, and Regulatory Office for Network Industries (URSO) chairman
Jozef Holjenčík of colluding to determine gas prices for households.
“Who
are the main players who determine how much we pay for gas? There are
three gas kings. It is premier Fico, it is Mr. Křetínský, and it is Mr.
Jozef Holjenčík,” he said, while singling out Fico for allegedly
orchestrating “grand gas theft” in Slovakia, which “a regular Slovak
household pays for brutally.”
Křetínský’s
Energetický a průmyslový holding (EPH) holds a 49% stake with
managerial control in transmission operator Eustream, while the Slovak
state retains 51%. Before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, gas
flows of 50–55 bcm through Slovakia generated about €400mn in annual
after-tax profit for both Eustream shareholders, Alexander Duleba,
senior research fellow at the Slovak Foreign Policy Association (SFPA), estimated in an interview in December.
EPH
also has a share in the distribution arm of state-controlled Slovenský
plynárenský priemysel (SPP) – the country’s largest natural gas
supplier. SPP spokesperson Ondrej Šebesta said 2025 tariffs were based
on average wholesale prices from October 2023 to June 2024, when levels
were higher.
Slovakia
has traditionally been a key gas transit hub, with operator Eustream
handling tens of billions of cubic metres annually before flows declined
after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. These rose after
Fico returned to power in late 2023.
The
landlocked country remains among the EU states most dependent on
Russian gas. Fico has pressed Brussels to create emergency mechanisms to
cushion households and industry if compelled to use higher-cost
alternative imports, but Fico's critics point out the strongman PM is
taking advantage of energy to galvanise support for his national
conservative agenda at home.
So
far in 2025, Slovakia has imported about 1.7 bcm of gas via Hungary,
most of it originating from Russia through the TurkStream pipeline, Reuters reported
on September 2, though Hirman pointed out that it is difficult to
quantify the precise amount of Russian gas flowing through Slovakia.
Slovakia
receives most of its supplies under a long-term contract with Gazprom
that runs until 2034, with annual volumes of around 3.5 bcm. Under this
contract, the Russian side is committed to transporting the gas to
Slovakia for free, covering gas transit fees all the way to the Slovak
border.
Fico has made energy a central focus of his Smer party’s further pro-Kremlin turn. In the summer, Fico also delayed the EU's eighteenth sanctions package against Russia, and repeatedly slammed the EU’s plans to phase out Russian energy imports by 2027.
Fico lifted Slovakia's blocking of the sanctions package only
after he claimed he obtained “energy guarantees” from the EU, and Fico
is also pushing to use the EU funds to cover energy costs, which Hirman
hinted was a cynical play by Fico and other gas players.
Holjenčík was installed as URSO’s head in autumn 2023, shortly after the formation of Fico’s sitting left-right cabinet.
Democrats, led by the former interim Prime Minister Eduard Heger, poll just above the 5% threshold, according to the latest poll compiled by the Focus agency for the online news streaming website 360ka.sk.
The
largest opposition party in Slovakia, centrist Progressive Slovakia
(PS), maintains a comfortable lead of 22% ahead of the Smer party of
populist Prime Minister Robert Fico, which trails behind with 18.2%, see earlier.
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