Slovakia's SPP seek 7.5 pct rise in gas prices

BRATISLAVA, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Slovakia's dominant gas firm SPP will seek a 7.5 percent price increase for households from November due to higher wholesale prices and a stronger U.S. dollar, marking the first rise in four years, it said on Friday.

Under the previous leftist government of Prime Minister Robert Fico, the euro zone's poorest member rejected all efforts to raise prices between 2006 and 2010 as it moved to regulate energy markets tightly.

Bratislava cut gas prices for households by around 5 percent in January. "The rising market price for natural gas is the reason for the price hike proposal," SPP spokesman Ondrej Sebesta said.

"SPP buys gas in U.S. dollars. Since the beginning of 2010 the dollar has risen more than the URSO (State Regulator) anticipated, when calculating average prices for 2010."

Slovensky Plynarensky Priemysel (SPP) is operated by France's GDF Suez (GSZ.PA) and Germany's E.ON (EONGn.DE) (EONGn.DE) through a joint 49 percent stake that carries management rights. The Slovak government holds 51 percent.

A price adjustment, however, must be approved by a general meeting of shareholders and requires the consent of the government.

An SPP general meeting approved a proposal on Friday to lift heating prices by 10.1 percent as of November. The measure also requires URSO approval. (Reporting by Martin Santa, Editing by Michael Kahn and Anthony Barker)