Skopje, 14 December 2023 (MIA) – Economy Minister Kreshnik Bekteshi said Thursday there will be no hikes in the price of electricity for households from January 1, despite the introduction of the new methodology and the new grid access fee, which, according to Bekteshi, impacts citizens who own holiday homes, or multiple houses or apartments.

The Economy Minister dismissed claims that the new fee is compensation for the reinstated low electricity rate.

In answer to media questions, Bekteshi said that despite the requests of energy companies regarding the price of electricity, the Energy Regulatory Commission is the body that will decide how many of them will be accepted.

“Twenty-seven percent isn’t such a big request if we compare it to previous years. It most likely won’t be accepted. The price for households and small consumers won’t increase from January 1, on the contrary, with the chance to use the low rate, their electricity bills will be reduced,” said Bekteshi.

The Economy Minister said the new methodology is fair and organized based on the different categories of citizens.

“The Energy Council has been working on the new methodology for a whole year already, in order to reinstate the low rate, while also introducing new fees that will impact certain groups of citizens who own holiday homes, two to three houses, two to three apartments, etc.,” said Bekteshi.

He said those who own multiple apartments or houses, holiday homes, etc., will pay a fixed fee throughout the year, stressing again that the new methodology will not result in bigger electricity bills for the citizens.

According to the Minister, the consumers in the first two blocks have greater need of support from the state.

“More than 40-50 percent of our [electricity] consumption is in those two blocks. During the energy crisis, I said we shouldn’t subsidize citizens who have larger incomes and are consuming as much electricity as a single factory,” said Bekteshi.

The consumers in the fourth block, he added, have no need of support from the state.

“This is my personal position, considering the structure of households in our country and which categories of citizens have greater needs. I have no influence over the ERC’s decision because it is an independent body. But, if you ask me, the fourth block should receive further increases because they have the means, while at the same time we would be able to affect a reduction in consumption overall, which is the goal of every country, especially amid a transition when we are moving towards investments in renewables,” said Bekteshi.

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