Skopje, 22 August 2022 (MIA) – Currently there is no greater issue for the Macedonian economy than the electricity price. The Government must find balanced solutions which will ensure the survival of the business sector. If that doesn't happen, many businesses will close and jobs will be lost. If people are left without salary, they will not be able to pay their bills, regardless of how subsidized they are by the Government, said the Economic Chamber on Monday. According to the Chamber, an urgent reaction is necessary because time is running out, while the risks are increasing. The Chamber expects its proposals to be considered, but also adopted, by the Government this week. “In front of me I have data about the electricity bills of a company which is a member of the Chamber. Even though in July this year the company used less electricity than the same time last year, the electricity bill for the same month this year is almost six times greater compared to last year. Last year the company paid around one million denars in July, while this year it paid six million denars for the same month. Which business sector can endure this and for how long?” said Vice President of the Chamber, Zoran Jovanovski. Referring to data from the Central Registry, he emphasized that in 2021, 6,995 legal entities were removed from the register of commercial and other legal entities, and in 2022, according to currently available data, 5,324 legal entities have already been removed. “With this dynamic, more legal entities will be removed this year than last. With these electricity prices, how many more businesses will close in the upcoming period? The Government has to quickly accept the Chamber’s proposal. A swift reaction is necessary because time is running out and the risks are increasing. The electricity price is the most important economic issue and the survival of the Macedonian business sector depends on its solution. Which is why we expect the Government to accept the proposals and to take the necessary steps for their implementation. According to our information the issue will be discussed this week. We hope they agree with us on the seriousness of the issue,” said Jovanovski. He added that the electricity price issue is also important for the future. According to the available data from various sources, the price of electricity that businesses pay in all other countries in the region is lower than ours, and that makes our businesses unable to compete. Therefore, the price of electricity is an issue of long-term competitiveness as well. When asked about the electricity saving measures adopted by the Government which also include the businesses, he said “no one needs to tell businesses they need to save”. “It is in their interest to bring their expenses to a minimum and they all do that,” said Jovanovski. At the press-conference he reiterated that the 40-45 megawatts of photovoltaics have been installed or are being installed and are waiting to be connected to the network. “This is an opportunity to increase domestic production and for the business sector to invest in it, but the administrative barriers must be removed,” underlined Jovanovski. ad/nn/