Changes in Energy Legislation: What to Prepare for and What to Expect in 2026 — A Legal Perspective

On 1 January 2026, amendments to the Energy Act (Act No. 251/2012 Coll.) and the Act on the Promotion of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) (Act No. 309/2009 Coll.) entered into force, and changes to related implementing regulations can also be expected soon. Since these changes will affect the business environment, companies should mark 1 July 2026 in their calendars.

The legislative changes are not an isolated Slovak phenomenon, as they largely respond to European legislation. However, their implementation in the Slovak context will be particularly important and interesting. In this article, we focus on selected aspects of the new energy legislation effective from 1 January 2026.

New market mechanisms and contractual arrangements

One of the key new terms and institutions is the flexible grid connection agreement. The purpose of this instrument is:

(i) to make the connection of facilities to the transmission and/or distribution system more efficient; and, at the same time,
(ii) to enable a flexible response to the capacity situation in the system.

In practice, this means a connection with the possibility of limiting the use of capacity under pre-defined or agreed conditions, without compensation for such limitation. For investors in RES and battery storage facilities, this may open the way to connection in situations where the system operator would otherwise refuse connection due to insufficient capacity in the system.

The following have also become part of energy legislation:

(i) a fixed-price electricity supply agreement; and
(ii) a contract for difference.

The essence of the fixed-price electricity supply agreement is already reflected in its name: the electricity supplier undertakes to supply electricity to the customer in a certain quantity and at a certain time, including related services, for which the customer pays a fixed price. Such fixed price is not subject to regulation by the Regulatory Office for Network Industries (ÚRSO).

An interesting contractual arrangement is the contract for difference. Many international companies may already be familiar with this type of contract, as various forms of contracts for difference are used in several EU Member States, as well as outside the EU.

The benefit of these contracts for companies and investors lies primarily in the fact that they represent a form of state support for electricity generation. In essence, a company concludes a contract with the state — the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic — for a certain period, with the contract also setting out the conditions of the balancing regime and determining the reference electricity price.

If the market price of electricity is lower than the reference electricity price agreed in the contract, the state pays the company a balancing payment. Conversely, if the market price of electricity is higher than the reference price, the company pays the balancing payment to the state as the provider of support.

This contractual arrangement is beneficial for both parties. For the company or investor, it provides more predictable expectations regarding the electricity price. For the state, it enables strategic support for selected forms of electricity generation. In the Slovak context, the priorities have been defined as “traditional” electricity generation from nuclear energy and electricity generation from RES. Support in the form of a contract for difference is expected to apply only from July 2027.

The common denominator of the above-mentioned agreements is that their details will be specified in implementing regulations. The amendments to the decrees, which are planned to take effect on 1 July 2026, should reveal more. In the coming weeks and months, it will therefore be worth monitoring published information on interdepartmental comment procedures.

Electricity sharing

From January 2026, active customers and energy communities may share generated electricity directly or through a sharing organiser — i.e. an entity that provides sharing services for active customers and energy communities. Electricity suppliers may not make sharing conditional or restrict it.

For companies with their own RES-based electricity generation, this opens up opportunities for more efficient use of the electricity generated. It will also be interesting to see whether this possibility becomes one of the necessary impulses for the development of energy communities.

Changes in support for electricity generation from RES

In addition to the new form of RES support in the form of a contract for difference, the RES Act also includes, from 1 January 2026, new conditions for support in the form of a surcharge. In the case of electricity generation through high-efficiency cogeneration, support in the form of a surcharge will apply only to facilities whose building permit or decision on the construction plan became final by 31 December 2025 and whose first commissioning — or completion of reconstruction or modernisation — takes place by 31 December 2028.

Conclusion

The aim of this article was to provide an illustrative overview of the changes in energy legislation effective from 1 January 2026. It remains to wait for the wording of the amendments to ÚRSO decrees and to hope that they will also include further steps aimed at removing barriers to the implementation of electricity generation projects, such as the refundability of the paid connection fee in situations where a project cannot be implemented due to a negative outcome or delays in permitting procedures.

Source: www.energie-portal.sk