• Established in 2001, currently there are 94 staff members
• According to Act No. 276/2001, the Office is headed and managed by a Chairman who is appointed and recalled upon the Board for Regulation proposal (the Board for Regulation is an independent collective state authority responsible for determination of regulatory policy. The Board consists of 6 members appointed and recalled by the President of the Slovak Republic)..
• The Office is financed from state budget. The budget is approved by the Board for Regulation.
• Act No. 276/2001 Coll. on Regulation in Network Industries and on Amendments and Additions to Some Acts as amended.

• Legally and functionally independent. On an annual basis, always by 31 May of the subsequent year, the Office submits to the National Council a report on the Office’ s activities and management, a report on performance of regulation policy, and a report on results of performance of tasks approved by the Board for Regulation.
  The Board for Regulation prepares draft regulatory policy for the upcoming regulatory period as well as the price proposal for regulated entities and submits them to the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Environment. If the proposals comply with the goals of energy policy and water policy, the Ministry of Economy approves the draft.
  
  
  Responsibilities for Electricity, natural gas, district heating, water:

• Ensures transparent, non-discriminatory and efficient competition with consideration for consumer protection
• Ensures efficient operation of the market in network industries
• Issues licenses
• Determines and approves the method, procedures and conditions of determination of prices

Electricity Market Structure

• Major power producer Slovenské elektrárne, a.s. (66% controlled by Italy´s ENEL SpA) had 80% of the market share in domestic electricity supply
• 1 national state-owned transmission system operator (TSO)
• 3 main regional distribution system operators
• 170 small local distribution companies
• 3 final suppliers of electricity for households and small businesses, as a part of vertically integrated utility performing simultaneously distribution system operator’s function
• Other market players: 90 license holders for generation, 380 license holders for electricity supply (152 of these being traders operating almost exclusively on the wholesale market - without final supply to end customers)
• Wholesale prices are freely negotiated
• All customers eligible since 1 July 2007
• Electricity prices to households and small businesses regulated through price cap since 2009
• Market coupling between Czech republic and Slovak republic

Natural Gas Market Structure

• Market structure: 1 transmission company (eustream), 1 main distribution company (SPP-distribúcia), 2 underground storage operators, 1 dominant incumbent supplier (SPP - legally unbundled, 51% state owned), 5 new natural gas traders (since 2009) supplying gas only for industrial end-users to 2010
• About 48 small distributors and suppliers active only within their operational premises, they aren’t regarded as competitors of SPP
• Market opening since 1 July 2007, since 2011 households have real possibility to choose supplier
• Low domestic gas production (only 1 % of domestic consumption)
• More than 85 % of gas is imported from Russia on the basis of long-term import contracts between SPP and Gazprom.
• Regulated third party access
• Regulated prices for gas supply to households, regulated prices for supply of gas used for household heat production
• Regulated prices for gas storage
• Regulated prices for gas supply by a supplier of last resort
• Natural gas market legislation is in line with EC Regulation 1775/2005 and Directive 2003/55/EC

Changes in primary energy legislation (energy act, act on regulation, gas market rules, electricity market rules) resulting from the outcomes of the 3. Energy package by the EC effective from 2011

Bajkalská 27, P.O.Box 12, 82007 Bratislava, Slovak Republic
Tel.: (+421 2) 581 004 18; Fax: (+421 2) 581 004 79; E-mail: urso{.}urso.gov.sk;
Internet: www.urso.gov.sk