Skopje, 9 November 2022 (MIA) – The government made a decision seven days ago instructing Power Plants of North Macedonia (ESM) to secure electricity through ESM Sales until April 30, 2023, for producers of basic foodstuffs, public water supply enterprises, primary and secondary schools and public health institutions. ESM has already set the procedures and prepared the necessary documentation on the basis of which agreements on electricity supply will be concluded as of December 1, 2022. “The decision was made in order to prevent price hikes in basic food products, maintain reliability and continuity in water supply and secure electricity for schools, so that classes can run smoothly during the entire autumn and winter period,” Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski told Wednesday’s press conference at the government. He pointed out that the documentation and the instructions are extremely simplified and will be posted on the official ESM website, where consumers can download and fill them out to send them via email together with required documents that should be attached, and then submit them to the company's archive. “The date of application will be the date when the complete documents are officially sent via email. Consumers can conclude agreements for the supply of electricity from ESM every 1st of the month, i.e. December 1, 2022, and January 1, February 1, March 1 and April 1, 2023. In order to start electricity supply from the first day of the next month, all interested parties must submit the signed agreement with the necessary documentation to EVN Sales no later than the 10th of the current month,” Kovachevski noted. According to him, the measure includes three categories of consumers. “The first category includes natural and legal persons registered to perform a priority activity in the area of the food industry. This includes the basic products: meat, milk, bread, oil, etc. They will receive electricity at the price of EUR 80 per MWh, and this will be valid only for consumption in direct performance of the priority activity, i.e. exclusively for the production process. The goal is to keep the price of basic food products stable, i.e. to prevent price hikes due to extremely high electricity bills or interruption of production,” Kovachevski pointed out. He called on producers covered within this measure to show solidarity and reduce the prices of basic food products by at least 10 percent. “The second category includes public enterprises in the area of water management, collection and removal of urban waste water, and treatment of waste water, operating with pumping or treatment stations. They will receive electricity at the price of EUR 95 per MWh,” said Kovachevski. The third category, he added, includes 365 primary schools and 109 secondary schools, as well as public health institutions. “The government secured a preferential electricity price of EUR 95 per MWh from ESM in order to have schools and hospitals warm amid the crisis. The aim of the supply to schools is to ensure no disruption of the educational process due to lack of electricity or high electricity bills,” Kovachevski said. He reiterated that the government will continue to subsidize electricity by 80 percent for over 600,000 households and 72,000 small consumers. He added that direct financial assistance will be available for 42,000 citizens from the most vulnerable categories, as well as for pensioners with lowest income.