In the last months of 2015, activities will be conducted regarding the subsidies for electrical energy bills for the most vulnerable categories.
The question where will that subsidization be funded from was answered by the Prime Minister of FB&H Fadil Novalic.
“Namely, there are two projects regarding the electrical energy. The first one which was signed with the miners and the media assessed it as the growth in the price of electrical energy. The Government of FB&H denied it, because those are actually the internal reserves of Elektroprivreda BiH, that must direct assets more intensively towards restructuring the mines”, Novalic said.
The second project, Novalic said, is related to what the Government of FB&H from the beginning stated as one of the social subsidy measures for around 100.000 families in socially endangered zone.
“We have around 800.000 households (670.000 Elektroprivreda BiH and 180.000 Elektroprivreda HZHB). Our idea is to increase the price of electricity by let’s say two or three percent for 700.000 wealthier families in order to subsidize these 100.000 families up to around 100 kW”, Novalic pointed out.
Stating that it is a matter of solidarity in action, Novalic claims that “electricity would not generally go up, but that it would be more expensive for wealthier, while it would be cheaper or free for 100.000 families”.
“That is Swiss model. Basically, electricity will go up for some and what is collected will be distributed to the socially vulnerable. On that basis, the total income of Elektroprivreda BiH would not increase”, Novalic said.
Novalic also confirmed that the Program for the protection of vulnerable buyers of electrical energy from the category of household consumption in FB&H should include more categories of buyers than it was the case until now.
“We would include it all, and recognize 100.000 families among them which are vulnerable. Those are mostly pensioner families. That is an idea which is still being worked on, and which must be passed by both Houses of the Federal Parliament”, said Novalic.
Novalic also explained whether there will be an increase in subsidy per user of subsidies.
“If we have a family with an income basis of let’s say 320 BAM of pension and no more incomes, that family has an electricity bill amounting to 20 BAM. We will say that 15 BAM is a subsidy and five BAM is a measuring counter, but the Government of FB&H does not pay for it; it is being socialized by those 700.000 families that will perhaps pay two or three BAM more. An average bill in the FB&H is 37 BAM, so those would pay 40 BAM, and socially vulnerable five, instead of 20 BAM”, stated the Prime Minister Novalic.
(Source: klix.ba)
