If you paid 33 euros for your electricity bill for March, for the same amount of electricity used in May you will pay 38.31 euros.
This is because, on April 11, the Energy Regulatory Office (ERO) approved price increases for electricity tariffs for households and businesses with up to 50 employees.
Despite protests organized to oppose this increase, the new tariffs were approved on April 16 and will come into effect on May 1, reports A2.
The Council for the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms (KMLDNJ) has strongly opposed the ERO's decision, saying that "the increase in energy prices will not remain an isolated case, but will produce increases in other prices."
Usually, new tariffs come into effect on April 1st of each year. This year, it is happening a month later due to numerous complaints and reactions.
The Energy Supply Operator, KESCO, is the main licensed supplier of electricity in Kosovo, and ERO reviews prices annually.
The increase in electricity prices has been justified by the lack of sufficient production by the Kosovo Energy Corporation (KEK) and the need for imports at more expensive prices on international exchanges.
How can new prices affect the consumer basket?
The decision to increase the price of electricity has caused numerous reactions from citizens and businesses.
Rahime Mehmeti from Prishtina, who works in the private sector, says that the price of electricity is still very expensive. For five members of her family, if she saves electricity, her monthly bill comes to 100 euros.
"We save electricity to the extreme. During the winter we haven't constantly turned on the heating, we also have air conditioning, but we don't turn it on too much, because our bill comes to 150 euros per month," says Mehmeti, adding that the increase in energy tariffs worsens the standard of living of citizens because the prices of other items are also expected to increase.
Protests have been organized twice in Pristina against the price hike, while the group "Not a Cent More" announced on Friday that the next protest will be organized on April 19th.
Activist from this group, Besnik Shabiu, said that if there is no reflection from ERO, the protests will become massive. In a press conference on Friday, he added that due to the new energy tariffs, the price of flour, an essential product, has also been warned to increase.
Against the increase in electricity prices, this group has already announced that they will file a lawsuit against ERO at the Basic Court in Pristina.
The lawyer for this group, Ardian Bajraktari, said that the lawsuit is ready and that they are awaiting the official publication of ERO's decision, in order to continue with other legal procedures.
"Also, in addition to the lawsuit, it is worth noting that we have worked and are working intensively on drafting a proposal for a temporary measure - as a measure to postpone the execution of the decision, due to the fact that such a decision represents damage, difficult to repair, for citizens," said Bajraktari during the press conference.
ERO did not respond to Radio Free Europe's question about when the decision is expected to be published on its official website.
Business representatives have also warned that the increase in energy tariffs will be just the beginning and that this increase will later affect the entire economy.
While there is a way for citizens to save a little – by using electrical appliances at night, when electricity costs less – this would not be possible for local producers, as their working hours do not fit into the low-tariff hours, from 11:00 PM to 8:00 AM.
According to business representatives, the increase in the cost of electricity will force businesses to increase the price of their products and services, such as flour, bread, milk, oil and other locally produced products.
Radio Free Europe asked the Kosovo Millers Association about the possibility of an increase in the price of flour, as warned by the group "Not a Cent More", and this association confirmed that after receiving the invoices with the increase, there may be price movements, but not to a large extent.
The president of this association, Bashkim Zejnullahu, says that currently the price for 100 kilograms of flour is up to 35 euros. However, after the increase in energy tariffs, the price for this amount of flour could increase by two euros.
"If the price increases to a greater extent, it is exploitation of the situation," he tells Radio Free Europe.
Gani Durmishi, president of the Association of Milk Producers and Processors in Kosovo, has also warned of price increases for other products.
"When electricity becomes more expensive, the price of packaging also increases, as does the price of milk, cheese, yogurt," he tells Radio Free Europe.
The President of the Kosovo Chamber of Economy, Lulzim Rafuna, says that businesses "will be forced" to increase the prices of their products and services.
"When prices rise, there is inflation... As a result, the value of money is lost," says Rafuna.
In the last four years, Kosovo has faced continuous increases in the prices of goods and services.
Initially due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and two years later, in 2022 when Russia began its invasion of Ukraine.
Kosovo closed 2022 with an inflation rate of 11.6 percent. According to data from the Kosovo Agency of Statistics (KAS), it decreased to 4.9 in 2023, while last year it fell to 1.6 percent.
Even though inflation has fallen or stabilized, prices have not come down.
Liberalization or economic and energy chaos?
The new electricity tariffs do not apply to all businesses in Kosovo.
Tariffs regulated by ERO can only be used by household consumers and businesses that have up to 50 employees or that have an annual turnover of under 10 million euros.
Larger businesses will be forced to choose their own electricity supplier and enter the open market from June.
This means they will pay more for the electricity they use, but no price is yet known.
ERO says this is a step towards liberalizing the energy market.
Kosovo's chambers of commerce disagree with this decision. They say the country is not ready for this change because there are not enough licensed companies offering energy at affordable prices for businesses and that this will deregulate the price market.
For this reason, on March 21, the Kosovo Chamber of Commerce requested the Ombudsman to initiate this case at the Constitutional Court and request the suspension of the decision for at least one year.
So far, the Ombudsman has not responded to questions about how he will act in this case.
ERO, however, has insisted that there are 18 companies licensed to sell energy and has pledged to monitor the agreements between businesses and supply companies itself, to avoid possible abuses./ REL (A2 Televizion)
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