17th GEN-I Business Partners Meeting
At the 17th partners’ meeting, which took place on 9 April in Ljubljana, the GEN-I Group outlined current developments on energy markets in Slovenia and Europe. The partners were also apprised of the latest regulatory changes in the sector, and the key challenges facing Europe in relation to electricity supply competitiveness. We gave details of a number of advanced comprehensive energy solutions, including the Smart Self-Supply package for business customers, and outlined how self-supply communities work and what benefits they bring.
How to maintain and strengthen the competitiveness of the Slovenian and European economy in an uncertain environment marked by electricity price volatility was one of the issues discussed at this year’s business partners’ meeting held by Slovenia’s biggest electricity supplier, GEN-I. The European energy market is strongly integrated into the global market. Europe’s key challenges in relation to electricity supply competitiveness lie not only in high energy prices, but also its dependence on fossil fuel imports, the slow introduction of renewable energy, regulatory barriers and a lack of a common energy policy. GEN-I management board member Sandi Kavalič pointed out that while geostrategic and geopolitical developments did present companies with significant challenges, they could also provide them with an opportunity to adjust by introducing energy solutions that foster greater independence from market uncertainty and therefore increase competitiveness.
Our experts shared their assessments of current trends and future market impacts with those present at the meeting. They highlighted the quickening pace of decarbonisation in electricity production throughout Europe, and the links that exist between the price of electricity in the region and other markets in the EU, and with the prices of energy products, particularly natural gas. ‘Demand for electricity and natural gas in Europe continued to be lower in 2024 than before the energy crisis. Renewable sources are on the rise in Europe, and were responsible for 47% of the electricity generated last year, while solar power also overtook coal for the first time last year,’ said GEN-I’s Trading Director Jan Bohinec. He went on to discuss possible future scenarios: ‘In the next few months, energy prices will be most heavily dependent on how the trade war develops. Imports of liquefied natural gas into China will also have an impact on prices, as will any peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia and the regulatory changes relating to the filling of gas storage facilities,’ he explained.
Presentations were then made of our energy management, energy self-supply and sustainable mobility solutions, with the company keen to point out that any surface could become a source of energy in the future. We are now offering the Smart Self-Supply product, which combines the use of renewable energy, smart technologies and advanced energy systems, to business customers, with financing options that do not involve an initial down-payment for solar power units and battery energy storage systems. ‘The main objective behind Smart Self- Supply is to increase energy efficiency and reduce costs and environmental impact,’ said GEN-I Sales Director Vito Panič, who highlighted the added value of the product, which lies chiefly in the opportunities for advanced battery energy storage management it offers. He also gave details of examples of good practice in relation to the self-supply communities that we have set up in the last few years, and gave companies details of the possibilities of providing land for this purpose.
‘The path towards energy self-supply can be long and complex, and at every turn requires a careful approach and good planning,’ concluded Panič. He mentioned GEN-I’s role as a reliable partner for the energy future, and one that provides its customers with a one-stop shop for everything from the design and installation of solar power and battery energy storage systems, the maintenance and active management of those systems, energy shortfall supply and the buy-back of energy surpluses from customers, to the organisation and management of energy communities and options for the purchase of unallocated energy surpluses from solar power plants.
The gathered representatives of Slovenian companies was also addressed by GEN energija’s managing director Dr Dejan Paravan, who highlighted the growing importance of long-term energy purchase in the form of the Nuclear Power Purchase Agreement (nPPA) product, which GEN offers to various suppliers. The product enables the long-term purchase of nuclear energy at a price fixed for five years. Its key advantages include a reduction in the risks of extreme prices and the reliable supply of nuclear energy from Krško. It is also supported by guarantees of origin, and therefore aids the company’s efforts to meet its ESG indicators. ‘Customers who signed an nPPA with GEN-I (GEN nPPA offer) for the 2025–2029 period in the second half of 2024 are this year limiting their exposure to the risk of high prices that existed on the market at the end of 2024,’ said Paravan, who added that the GEN Group is already working on upgrading the product.
The meeting also touched upon current topics in the management and optimisation of battery storage systems. Our team of experienced experts take a tailored approach to battery energy storage management that ensures the highest savings after the meter or on the market. With the help of these energy storage systems, we are able to optimise the costs of electricity supply, network charges and levies.
