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The final amount paid by households includes several items that are calculated in addition to the kilowatts consumed, including those that increase in price. Thus, consumers who consume an average of about 400 kilowatts of electricity per month, starting in March, the due date of the February bill, will have to pay 433 dinars more than before. The January calculation will not include the increase in the price of electricity, but the new prices for renewable energy sources and utility rates, and will be higher by 182 dinars.
On December 18, the Serbian Government passed a decree stipulating that the incentive fee for privileged producers of electricity from renewable sources for 2021, instead of the previous 0.093 dinars per kilowatt-hour consumed, amounts to 0.437 dinars and will be applied from January 1. Households that consume 400 kilowatts of electricity per month, and which have so far reserved 37 dinars for this item within the bill, will pay 175 dinars from next year.
The new higher electricity rate, which will apply from February 1, will increase the price of electricity by 3.4 percent. In the words of the Minister of Energy, Zorana Mihajlović, that will increase the average bill of 3,000 dinars by 251 dinars. As of January 1, the utility fee will be 299 dinars instead of the previous 255 dinars.
Regarding the problems of consumers who are having difficulty paying off their electricity obligations, Mihajlović said he is in favor of providing them with a new debt rescheduling and announced that he would discuss this with EPS representatives.
The economist Ivan Nikolić points out that the low level of the average household in our country should always be taken into account when deciding to correct the price of electricity.
– Electricity bills burden the family budget in Serbia much more than in European countries – Nikolić estimates for “Novosti”. – On the other hand, it is inevitable that the price of the kilowatt will increase, because the costs of its production are higher. They will be even higher when the environmental standards imposed by the EU accession process are taken into account.
Increasing the share of electricity production from renewable sources and reducing it from fossil fuels, as he claims, requires huge investments. He adds that the price of a kilowatt produced in this way is three to four times higher than with the traditional production method.
Mladen Alfirović from the National Consumers Organization of Serbia estimated that the increase in electricity bills will have a negative effect on the low level of consumers. He believes that the much bigger problem is that the social cards have not yet been drawn up and that the Decree on the energy customer in danger is not effectively applied, which guarantees the right to free kilowatts to residents who are in an economic situation hard. A large number of citizens do not know how to exercise this right and obtain relief. It points out that the competent authorities must better inform the public about these procedures.
Our two interlocutors note that the price of electricity in Serbia, even after the correction, is significantly lower than in the region and Europe.
NO DISMISSAL OF EMPLOYEES IN EPS
Energy Minister Zorana Mihajlovic described the accusations “that EPS intends to fire workers and privatize itself” as lies and nebulae that have nothing to do with life:
– Nobody thinks of privatizing EPS, nobody will lose their job. Distribution produces an annual loss of 250 million euros. We will highlight distribution and invest in the distribution network and production. This electric company uses 20 percent more coal and has the same higher estimated costs, and that must change. EPS must be a stronger and more powerful company, without losses, regionally known and successful.
He added that the company must invest in environmental protection, because none of its plants meet EU standards.
REGULARLY PAYS 97 PERCENT OF USERS
The collection of the electricity bill is above 97 percent, and a large number of households regularly pay their obligations, despite the new situation due to the pandemic, they point out in EPS for “Novosti”. They claim that the tariff for privileged electricity producers must cover the costs of purchasing the energy they produce from renewable sources at incentive prices, which are significantly higher than market prices.
– EPS, depending on the guaranteed supplier, is obliged by law to buy all the electricity produced in this way, which has increased significantly in recent years, especially after the commissioning of several wind farms – they explain in this company. – Last year EPS paid 13.6 billion dinars to these producers, while 2.7 billion dinar was collected from the fee. This year, the purchase of electricity from the same producers is expected for an amount of 17.4 billion dinars.
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