The Kosovo Assembly failed to approve a draft resolution proposed by the opposition on Thursday to lower the price of electricity, as deputies from the ruling party, Self-Determination Movement, abstained.<\/p>\n
With 29 votes in favor, none against, and 55 abstentions, the draft resolution did not garner the necessary votes.<\/p>\n
This is the second time this draft resolution \u2013 proposed by the Democratic Party, Democratic League, and Alliance for the Future of Kosovo \u2013 has failed in the Assembly, as Prime Minister Albin Kurti\u2019s party had abandoned the previous session when it was expected to be voted on, on January 18.<\/p>\n
The resolution was not considered serious by the Self-Determination Movement.<\/p>\n
This proposal came after many Kosovars complained on social media during December that the electricity bill for the last month of the year was much higher compared to the previous month\u2019s bill or the same month of the previous year, raising concerns that the electricity price may have increased.<\/p>\n
At that time, the Kosovo Energy Supply Company (KESCO) explained that the December bill amount had increased due to \u201chigher electricity consumption\u201d and the Government of Kosovo not subsidizing energy-saving consumers compared to a year ago.<\/p>\n
Through the draft resolution, it was requested that the Energy Regulatory Office (ZRRE) and the Government lower the price of energy \u201cin line with socio-economic circumstances and the level of energy prices in the international market\u201d.<\/p>\n
It also called for the abolition of the block tariff for residential consumers.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Government was required to take measures for \u201ccreating financial preconditions for the immediate annulment of the decision to increase electricity prices and easing the financial burden for residential electricity consumers\u201d.<\/p>\n
What are the electricity prices?<\/strong><\/p>\n According to the latest tariffs, approved in April by the ZRRE for consumers spending up to 800 kilowatts per hour within a month, the daytime price is 7.79 cents per kilowatt, while for those spending more than 800 kilowatts, the excess is calculated at a price of 14.45 cents.<\/p>\n From 10:00 pm to 7:00 am, the price per kilowatt is 3.34 cents for those spending up to 800 kilowatts and 6.81 cents for those spending more.<\/p>\n Prices began to rise at the beginning of last year when Russia began the annexation of Ukraine.<\/p>\n From September of last year to April of this year, the Government of Kosovo has subsidized consumers who have saved at least 5 percent of electricity per month compared to the same month of the previous year. These consumers have benefited twice the savings rate.<\/p>\n In August, the Institute for Development Policy (INDEP), which deals with energy issues, requested from the Government of Kosovo to continue subsidizing citizens, but this has not happened.<\/p>\n According to KESCO, the lack of subsidies is one of the reasons why citizens notice an increase in bills.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Kosovo Assembly failed to approve a draft resolution proposed by the opposition on Thursday to lower the price of electricity, as deputies from the ruling party, Self-Determination Movement, abstained. With 29 votes in favor, none against, and 55 abstentions, the draft resolution did not garner the necessary votes. This is the second time this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":65735,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[163],"tags":[381,300,3366,243,151,383,633],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n