Termoelektrarna Šoštanj (TEŠ), Slovenia’s sole coal-fired power plant, has changed its main goal this year from making electricity to making heat. Electricity is now sold as a byproduct. The work on unit 6 is still going on and should be done in the next few days. However, the 600 MW block won’t start up again until the end of September, when the need for heat is likely to surge.
As part of the plan to phase out coal, which is supposed to be done by 2033, the Slovenian government put aside EUR 403 million last year to save TEŠ and the Velenje coal mine from going bankrupt and take over both from the state-owned power company Holding Slovenske Elektrarne (HSE).
TEŠ intends to reach its income goal for this year in the autumn months, as unit 6 does not make money in the summer when energy costs are low and demand for heat is low. The power plant wants to make EUR 400 million this year by selling heat and electricity.
TEŠ only has one additional coal-fired power plant generator, unit 5, which has a capacity of 345 MW. Its first four blocks have been shut down, therefore this is the only one that works.
Branko Debeljak, the CEO of TEŠ, says that the new conditions have been hard for the company. The plant had to build up its own sales department and look for clients on the market since HSE no longer sells TEŠ’s power. Debeljak argues that the first four months of 2025 were still rather good for selling power. According to him, the facility sold 1,045 GWh of power, which brought in EUR 138 million, or EUR 29 million more than projected.
The work on unit 6 started on April 22 and was supposed to be done by June 20. It had to be pushed back until early July, however, since parts were late in arriving. After the overhaul is done, there will be a brief test run. A restart is anticipated for the end of September, when the demand for heat will grow again.
Slovenia wants to cut its emissions by 55% by 2033, and shutting down its lone coal-fired power plant early might help reach that goal. It seems that TEŠ will either shut down in a few years or run at a very low capacity.
Ireland’s Moneypoint power station ceased burning coal in June, which was the last time coal was used in the nation. Spain and Slovakia have formally said they would stop using coal in 2025. Greece will follow in 2026, France and Hungary in 2027, and Denmark and Italy in 2028. But the dates might be moved ahead, and in the interim, new nations could join the alliance.
