Gas supplier Prvo Plinarsko Drustvo (PPD) on Thursday dismissed media reports that it had purchased 63% of the HEP state-owned power company's gas surpluses sold at auctions held by the HROTE energy market operator.

“PPD is not aware of such data because HROTE will have data for June only on 15 July 2023. According to data available to us, in June 2023, a total of 54,958 MWh of negative balancing energy was activated and it was sold to balance responsible parties at daily auctions. At those auctions, PPD bought a total of 3,702 MWh of negative balancing energy in June,” the company said in a statement.

The company noted that in the period from April to June 2023 it had purchased 11% of the offered surplus quantities of gas at HROTE’s balancing energy auctions.

“PPD cannot comment on what led to the gas surpluses and why,” they said.

N1 on Thursday quoted sources as saying that 63% of surplus gas at HEP was bought in June by PPD, followed by, with much smaller quantities, by E.ON Plin and MET Croatia.

PPD said it dismisses media reports in which “legitimate gas buyers at HROTE auctions are mentioned in the context of unlawful and fraudulent activities, the more so as gas buyers are not responsible for the creation of market gas surpluses.”

It said that the balancing energy process is organised entirely in line with EU regulations, with all procedures conducted transparently and lawfully, and the system of sale functioning based on codes, just as in the rest of the EU, the purpose being to prevent abuse.