Comenius University has no supplier of energy for next year
Bratislava, 7 November 2022: No suppliers submitted bids for the supply of electricity and gas to Comenius University Bratislava in a public procurement procedure for 2023. The public procurement of energy was announced by the university on 13 September 2022. No bids were received by the deadline of 3 November 2022. Today, the Rector of CU Marek Števček approached the Minister of Education Ján Horecký to resolve the matter.
Comenius University took all the necessary steps in sufficient advance to attract bids by relevant suppliers in a public procurement procedure. The call for bids was preceded by ‘preparatory market consultations’ which should ensure that the subject of the procurement is defined as accurately and appropriately as possible. The original deadline was postponed by the university when potential energy suppliers requested clarifications and corrections due to an absence of guidance by state authorities. Nonetheless, no bidders submitted offers.
„During the preparatory market consultations with potential suppliers it became clear, that until it is known how energy prices will be ‘capped’, and what effect that will have on existing contracts, energy suppliers consider the signing of a contract with such a large customer as Comenius University to present a disproportionate risk,“ CU Rector Marek Števček wrote in a letter to the minister. Comenius University warns that a scenario is realistic under which the largest and oldest university in Slovakia will not be able to provide heating and lighting after 1 January 2023.
Comenius University Bratislava will use all available legal and other tools at its disposal to guarantee that it can continue to operate smoothly into the year 2023. The Rector, however, fears that this task will be hard to implement without significant state intervention.