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The latest cost estimate follows from the most recent version of the investment plan, which is yet to be endorsed by all competent bodies at TEŠ and its owner HSE, Omerzel told MPs at the outset of the session, which was requested by the opposition Democratic Party (SDS) and is expected to take eight hours.

He underscored that his ministry took a "comprehensive approach" to deal with the problem, taking into account all factors affecting the operation of the state-owned energy utility HSE, its subsidiary TEŠ and the TEŠ6 project.

So far almost EUR 1.1bn worth of liabilities for the project have been settled, which should have been paid back in case the project was halted, plus an extra billion in extra costs, the minister said in arguing that it was too late to scrap the project.

The difference in the price tag on the project between the most recently amended investment plan (6th) and the one before it (5th) is EUR 126m, mainly due to differences in cost estimates for construction works, equipment, some smaller items and financing costs, according to Omerzel.

He noted that the Premogovnik Velenje coal mine, which supplies coal to TEŠ, would operate at a profit in 2014-2016, and later at break-even point on the assumption that the price of coal is EUR 2.25 per gigajoule and the mine's divestment. In the opposite case, the mine would generate a loss.

He said that TEŠ would be making a loss in the first few years, but was later expected to generate a profit.

He also said that HSE was operating profitably, but that the problem at the moment was a financial deficit; standing at EUR 205m this year, EUR 70m the next and EUR 30m in 2016. The figures represented financial revenue without cover in the 5th investment plan.

Aside from the price of coal, another major risk is CO2 emissions, which the minister said were not crucial at the moment, but would be an important factor considering the EU policy towards a low-carbon society. Equally important was the price of TEŠ6-generated electricity.

Omerzel also underscored that parliament had been misled when endorsing the state guarantee for a EUR 440m loan from the European Investment Bank in July 2012, but he said that the then government, ministers and supervisors should have established that the documents forming the basis for the decision were misleading.

Defending decisions of his party, which was also in power when the loan guarantee was endorsed, SDS MP Andrej Vizjak said that the political decision for investment in 2006 was based on the facts and projections known at the time, which later changed.

Vizjak, who served as economy minister during the first government of SDS leader Janez Janša (2004-2008), said that the cost of the main technological equipment for TEŠ6 was then estimated at EUR 600m and the price of electricity in the market 50% higher than today, while consumption in Slovenia and the region was increasing by the year.

But the circumstances changed vitally as the economic crisis kicked in in late 2009, Vizjak said, suggesting that the then government (of Borut Pahor) should have reconsidered the investment.

At the time when the loan guarantee contract was signed, the second Janez Janša government endeavoured to curb the cost of the investment and had committed everyone involved to act rationally. "In this way an important step forward was made," he said, adding though that the commitments given then were not respected now.

He also argued that the government had still not received the newest investment plan and could therefore not claim the cost had risen to EUR 1.428bn and that the document had not been revised as requested by the government in July 2013.

The resolutions taken by the government then have not been realised to date, and there is still no answer yet whether officials at HSE and TEŠ had acted lawfully, according to Vizjak.

The debate saw opposition MPs lamenting the lack of oversight, while the coalition deputies are convinced the government is striving to manage risks.

There were few specific proposals on what should actually be done, though some deputies called for additional audits by impartial foreign institutions and several said action should be taken to find those responsible for the cost overruns.

As New Slovenia (NSi) deputy Matej Tonin pointed out, the management of the Šoštanj plant kept misleading decision-makers, to the point where the information used as the basis for the state loan guarantee was false.

Coalition deputies also accused the SDS of trying to shift the blame for the mess on the current government. But Citizens' List (DL) deputy Marko Pavlišič was quick to point out that "TEŠ6 is a closet full of skeletons that have started piling up three governments back."