Skopje, 29 February 2024 (MIA) – The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has reduced the price of heating for all corporate users in the City of Skopje by 35 percent. The decision to reduce the price, according to ERC President Marko Bislimoski, is a result of the reduction of the price of natural gas on the global markets.

At a press conference Thursday, Bislimoski said the February heating bills of schools, corporate users and public institutions will be reduced, resulting in lower bills for around 1.200 consumers connected to the central heating grid in Skopje.

Bislimoski said the prices for households will not be reduced since their bills are being subsidized by the Government with 20 percent.

“The price for households is 75 percent lower than the price for corporate users. Previously the difference was somewhere around 2.7 times. We are monitoring the situation on the natural gas market and if the conditions are met, we will absolutely consider adopting a new decision regarding the price for households as well,” said Bislimoski asked if prices for households are expected to drop as well.

The ERC President underscored that the Commission does not seek to influence events on the political scene in the coming period.

“We don’t want to be misunderstood. We are doing this in order to help the municipalities, state institutions and corporate users so that their heating costs can be reduced, since they bore the brunt of the energy crisis and, in a way, through their higher costs, they’re subsidizing the stable heating prices in the City of Skopje,” stressed Bislimoski.

According to the ERC’s data, a total of 65.000 consumers in Skopje are being supplied with heating energy, with around 1.000 new users since the start of the new heating season.

Photo: MIA