Economy, Energy

Much of Slovakia’s energy supply is imported, particularly oil and gas. Hydroelectric power from plants located on the Vah, Orava, Slana, and Hornad rivers provides an important domestic source of energy. There is a nuclear-power station at Jaslovske Bohunice and another one under construction at Mochovce. In 1999, Slovakia produced 22.6 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity.

In 1977 the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros hydroelectric project began as a joint effort between Czechoslovakia and Hungary, with Austria providing technical and financial assistance for the Hungarian part of the project. The plan called for the diversion of the Danube and the construction of two dams on the section of the river that formed the Czechoslovak-Hungarian border. One dam was to be built by Hungary at Nagymaros, and the other was to be constructed at Gabcikovo in eastern Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia). In 1989 environmental concerns led Hungary to abandon the project; the Czechoslovak government proceeded unilaterally on construction of the Gabcikovo dam, producing a major dispute between the two governments. The dispute, inherited by the Slovak government with independence in 1993, was referred to the International Court of Justice at The Hague, Netherlands. A 1997 ruling that both countries had violated the project agreement did not resolve the dispute.