According to an estimate made in December, the companies of the group Holding Slovenske Elektrarne contributed more than 215 million euros to national and local budgets through taxes. Operating among others as part of Holding Slovenske Elektrarne (HSE), the largest producer of electricity in Slovenia, including that which is obtained from renewable sources, are the companies Dravske Elektrarne Maribor (DEM), which is the largest producer of electricity from renewable sources in Slovenia, Soške Elektrarne Nova Gorica (SENG), the Šoštanj Thermal Power Plant (TEŠ), which produced up to 70 percent of the entire energy produced in the country last year despite the situation being aggravated by the epidemic, and the Premogovnik Velenje coal mine, which has supplied coal for electricity production in the TEŠ throughout that period without disruptions.
Under the current estimate, with the purchase of emission coupons the HSE Group contributed more than 65 million euros in 2020 to the Climate Change Fund, which has been established in accordance with the Environmental Protection Act and the Public Finance Act, wherein funds for the mitigation of and adjustment to climate change and for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions are being collected in a special account. In accordance with the spending programme, the funds from the Climate Change Fund in the 2020-2023 period are earmarked, among other things, for the development of renewable energy sources and technologies that contribute to a transition to a safe and sustainable economy through low carbon dioxide emissions, funding of research and development of energy efficiency and clean technologies, promotion of a transition to low-emission transport and public transportation, and measures whose purpose is to increase energy efficiency and insulation or to provide financial support for addressing social issues in low- or medium-income households.
In addition to this, in 2020 we also paid 1.2 million euros for monitoring and 227,000 euros in other taxes for environmental protection, and 35,000 in environmental fees.
The companies of the HSE Group also paid other due taxes in 2020. We thus paid more than 62 million euros in value added tax (VAT) into the national budget. The companies of the HSE Group also paid 18.9 million euros in corporate income tax into the national budget in 2020. We paid 4.6 million euros in commission to the state for loan guarantees.
We contributed 18 million euros as an employer
The companies of the HSE Group, which employ more than 3,000 people combined, contributed 18 million euros to the budget though the system of contributions from wages, wage compensations, bonuses and other income, of which around 55 percent or almost ten million euros was paid as contributions towards pension and disability insurance. Contributions for additional pension insurance paid by the HSE Group in 2020 amounted to 4.5 million euros. We contributed more than 80,000 euros to quotas for persons with disabilities.
A total of 156 new employees joined the group in 2020, of which some 80 percent are in the Savinja region (Premogovnik Velenje, RGP, TEŠ), 10 percent in Podravje (DEM, HSE Invest), 8 percent in Central Slovenia (the company HSE) and 2 percent in the Goriška region (SENG). During the epidemic, the HSE Group has paid particular attention to its employees who are actively involved in various development-promotion projects. In 2020, every employee in the HSE Group dedicated at least two working days to education and training.
More than 10 million for the use of building land
The companies of the group Holding Slovenske Elektrarne form the largest producer of electricity from renewable sources, and our hydro power plants exceeded plans in November 2020 by as much as 21 percent due to the exceptional hydrological conditions.
In 2020, we paid 19 million euros in concession fees for the use of water resources, and an additional 8.2 million euros in water charges.
In addition to this, in 2020 the companies in the HSE Group, which are active in almost all Slovenian regions, paid 10.7 million euros in fees for the use of building land. These fees are received by local communities.
While contributing 200 million euros to national and local budgets, we also earmarked almost half a million euros for corporate social responsibility. The majority of these funds were intended for humanitarian, sport and educational programmes in the regions where the companies of the HSE Group are active. We will continue with this practice in the future.