Mickoski: Fuel reserves guarantee the heating season in North Macedonia

The prime minister of North Macedonia, Hristijan Mickoski, said the country is ready for the upcoming heating season and has sufficient fuel reserves, even in the event of increased consumption.

He said that the reduction of excise duty and VAT would affect budget revenues. The projected shortfall from excise duty alone amounts to around 5 billion denars, while including the VAT reduction, the figure could reach between 7 and 8 billion denars. For this reason, Mickoski announced that a budget revision may be necessary, stressing that the main objective is to protect citizens’ living standards.

“We have sufficient reserves both for increased consumption and for the additional quantities used by citizens of neighboring countries. In general, I do not expect any major difficulties during the heating season. Our challenge remains the cost of the measures, so we will most likely have to revise the budget, since the projected shortfall from excise duty alone is around 5 billion denars,” Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said.

Referring to developments on the exchange, Mickoski expects the Energy Regulatory Commission to decide on lowering oil and petrol prices during the coming week. At the same time, the government is continuing talks with OKTA to secure a further discount.

“On social media, some people argue with me over whether we are first, fourth or fifth. To be more precise, we are among the countries with the lowest fuel prices in the region and perhaps in Europe as well. This brings social stability and helps keep inflation under control, which is currently 50 percent lower than the EU average,” Mickoski said.

According to the head of government, repairs to the thermal power units at the Bitola and Oslomej thermal power plants are nearing completion or are expected to be completed by the end of this month. Meanwhile, hydropower potential is currently assessed as satisfactory. Mickoski expects the heating season to begin fully in the second half of November, while he identified air pollution caused by the use of non-environmentally friendly fuels for heating as the main challenge.