Elektroprivreda Srpska sent the initiative on raising electricity prices to the competent Regulatory Agency. Some media stated that it is about increasing the electricity for the economy and citizens by 20 percent. How do they see it from the RS Consumers’ Association?
The Prime Minister of Republika Srpska, Radovan Višković, said that nothing can be done without the consent of the Government.
“Everyone can take the initiative. It’s a regular proposition. Elektroprivreda believes that there should be an increase in electricity prices, and in the end, the state and state institutions make the final decision,” Višković said.
The President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, says that Srpska has the lowest price of electricity in the region and he must take care to keep it for the citizens.
“But, equally, we must not question the fact that the system is not working. Therefore, we will see, everything depends on what the inputs are and how much they are and whether or not they have gone up in price. We will see what it will look like”, says President Milorad Dodik.
Dodik claims that a possible increase in the price of electricity will be decided on the basis of calculations made at the end of each year.
“It is not the will of an individual, but it is a matter of assessment by serious institutions. “The government’s policy will continue to be that the price here must be lower than the others,” said Dodik.
Dragan Jošić from the Consumer Protection Association of Republika Srpska tells MONDO that if the price of electricity were to rise, mechanisms must be found to limit the prices of basic foodstuffs.
“When we talk about a possible increase in the price of electricity in the media, we must first distance ourselves because there is no official announcement. An increase in the price of electricity would also lead to an increase in basic foodstuffs. So it will represent a blow to the citizens’ pockets, and if it is thought about increasing the price, we from the Association believe that before the increase in the price of energy, mechanisms should be found that will affect that there will be no big rising prices of basic foodstuffs,” he said.
He recalled the recent decision of the Government of RS on limited margins for basic foodstuffs, and that the increase in electricity prices should be followed by a similar decision.
“Everything depends on what the RS Government’s decision will be. We should not forget that we almost had a decision on limited margins for basic foodstuffs. If the increase in the price of electricity were to be followed by such a decision, it would definitely prevent price gouging in some way. “Traders and producers themselves are just looking for an excuse to increase certain prices of their products. If a decision is made to increase the price of electricity, it should be followed by a decision that will stabilize the price of basic foodstuffs,” said Jošić.
Source: bijeljina.org
