The purpose of this master’s thesis is a legal and economic analysis of natural gas distribution in Slovenia. The main hypothesis of the thesis is that the Slovenian natural gas market is highly concentrated, which limits competitiveness and reduces consumer choice. The auxiliary hypotheses assume that while the legal framework of distribution provides basic consumer protection and ensures transparent tariff regulation, it does not prevent the dominance of the largest operators in the market.
The methodological framework is based on the analysis of the legislative framework, in particular the Natural Gas Supply Act (ZOP), reports of the Energy Agency, and legal-economic literature in the field of competition theory and the regulation of natural monopolies. The legal part presents the regulatory framework of gas transmission and distribution, consumer protection, access to the system, and the methodology of tariff-setting. The economic part analyses the structure of the wholesale and retail natural gas market in Slovenia, with a particular focus on market concentration and the impact of network tariff regulation on consumers.
The results confirm that the Slovenian natural gas market remains highly concentrated, as evidenced by the high values of the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) in both wholesale and retail segments. The tariff regulation set by the Energy Agency ensures cost recovery and prevents direct abuse of monopoly power but does not reduce the structural dominance of the largest distribution system operators.
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