Mickoski: Electricity prices will remain unchanged until the end of the year

Electricity prices will not change until the end of the year. The government will also try to keep them unchanged from January 1 onward, Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said today.

Speaking to reporters after the opening of a new primary school in Hasanbeg, Mickoski said energy stability is a government priority. He said these efforts were taking place amid the biggest global energy crisis in living memory, while energy prices across the region and Europe were reaching record levels.

He noted that diesel and unleaded petrol cost more than €3 per litre in some European countries, while domestic prices remain below €1.6 per litre thanks to government policies. Mickoski said the government aims to take the same approach to electricity and is working to prevent a price increase, as it has done over three regulatory periods.

The prime minister stressed that EMV, the joint-stock company, is not the only company seeking price adjustments. Other companies are also involved in the process, including the operator and distributor, the private company EVN. For this reason, he suggested that they, too, should be asked how they intend to proceed.

Mickoski disagreed with the assessment that electricity prices depend mainly on EMV. He said no price below €65 would be offered, adding that, under current energy market conditions, even that amount is three times lower than what people in neighbouring countries and across Europe pay.

He reiterated that the government would try to keep prices at the same level, with no increase through December. Regarding the period from January 1 onward, Mickoski said it was necessary to await the energy companies’ positions and that he could not prejudge the Regulatory Commission’s decision. The prime minister added that no changes to electricity tariff blocks were planned.