Skopje, 3 October 2022 (MIA) - The government by October 5, 2022 at the latest, when the Economic Council is scheduled to convene, should pass measures to cushion the strong price blow, urges the Economic Chamber. According to the Macedonian chamber of commerce, the business sector has one alternative - either the state will help or businesses will have to face shutdown. "This is a critical moment. To react promptly is a decisive factor to maintain the country's macroeconomic and budgetary stability. The situation the economy is in is serious given the skyrocketing electricity bills by six times, for which no company is to blame. Over, 1,600 companies on the free market on Sept. 30, 2022 took part in a poll saying they were in an exceptionally dire situation. A process has started to reduce the number of employees, reduce production and to close companies. Escalation is expected in the next two months when contracts for energy supply are concluded for the next year," the Chamber says in a statement Monday. The companies that are left on their own, it adds, saying the only way out is to return to the regulated market. "Without state support, the top ten largest electricity consumers, recording 6,000 employees with a revenue of one billion euros, according to the current prices next year would have to pay half a billion euros, which would ruin their competitiveness affecting the foundations of the Macedonian economy. The Economic Chambers proposes that other companies on the free market, based on all comparative analyses, should get a certain base price with the country covering the costs exceeding the base price, which would create necessary conditions for some kind of predictability.