On December 1, 2008 Stredoslovenská energetika, a. s., (hereinafter referred to as "SSE") published the prices and terms of electricity supply for the customers buying electricity in households within Central Slovakia applicable for 2009 at its web site www.sse.sk

Prices of electricity supply for small households

Small households represent supply points within households that achieved the consumption of 5,000 kWh maximum or 20,000 kWh maximum with electricity heating in 2007.

In total these represent about 95% of the household's portfolio of SSE, and this group includes about 36,000 supply points with direct electric heating.

Average integrated price of supply (Note 1) for small households will increase in comparison with 2008 by 1.3%, while other average growth in majority of tariffs is marginal.

Small households using the rate for direct heating D37, will record the year-on-year increase by 5.2%, while the accumulation heating will increase on a year-on-year basis only by 0.4%.

Prices of electricity supply for big households

Big households represent the supply points in households that achieved in 2007 the consumption over 5,000 kWh, or if using electricity heating over 20,000 kWh, i.e. households with above-the-standard electricity consumption.

In total, these represent about 5% of the household's portfolio of SSE, and this group includes about 3,900 supply points with direct electricity heating.

SSE optimised its portfolio to achieve the best available price of electricity for such households on the whole-sale market and the difference between the average integrated supply prices for small and big households will represent in 2009 less than one percent. In spite of that, on a year-on-year basis, the average expenses on electricity supply for big households will increase by 28.4%. The major year-on-year increase for this segment is determined by the development on the whole-sale market with electricity from 2006 and the high share of electricity price on the total integrated price, which was over 50 % in 2008.

The most advantageous rate of SSE for big households is the tariff for accumulation heating D25V which will record the lowest year-on-year increase at the transition to market prices - by 15.5%, whereas direct heating tariff D37V records average year-on-year increase almost by double this rate.

The difference between the amount of heating tariffs D37V and D25V is determined by different way of electricity consumption; while with accumulation heating the electricity is taken mostly at night when it is the cheapest, with direct heating the electricity is taken evenly during the whole day, i.e. also at the time of the electric system peak load when the electricity is the most expensive. With the transfer from direct to accumulation heating in an average big households, the annual savings present 800 EUR.

For this reason, SSE has been taking active steps to support this segment of customers at the transfer from direct to accumulation heating, and, at the same time, provides to its customers, through its customer services and centres, as well as the web page www.sse.sk, advisory  in the area of efficient utilisation of electricity.

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Note 1: Integrated price of supply consists of the price of commodity - electricity, regulated supply margin, price of distribution including transmission and transmission losses, tarifff for distribution losses, tariff for system services and tariff for system costs.