Skopje, 3 November 2022 (MIA) – The possible increase of the Value Added Tax (VAT) for electricity from 5 to 10 percent as of the start of 2023 is only one of the parameters that the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) uses when determining the final price but we have still not reached this stage, said Deputy PM for economic Affairs Fatmir Bytyqi on Thursday. “We are still making the calculations for next year. We have been undertaking measures for one-and-a-half year now so that the input in defining the price will not be a blow for the citizens,” Deputy PM Bytyqi told reporters. He recalled that the Government has offered electricity to EVN Home at a much lower subsidized price. “This could be one of the things in order to soften the possible increase but we are still far from looking at all parameters. We are aware that the energy crisis is here and there must be a certain increase of the electricity price but it is our imperative to keep it as low as possible,” noted Bytyqi. He expects the projected capital investments in the draft-Budget to be realized as a result of operations over the past three years and setting up a system for removal of anomalies. “We have been working for three years on establishing a system that will remove existing anomalies. The only long-term and sustainable solution for capital investments is systematic work by the Government and I believe we will prove this in December 2023,” said Bytyqi. Capital expenditures in the draft-Budget are projected at about Mden 48,9 billion (EUR 773 million), a 52.3-percent increase compared to 2022, with funds secured from the Budget, IPA and loans.