After KESCO's request for increasing the price of electricity, the citizens of the country oppose the possibility of raising the price of electricity for the second time this year.

KESCO has justified the request for an increase in electricity tariffs with the lack of subsidization promised by the Government of Kosovo.

While the latter says that it is committed not to allow the increase in energy prices.

Citizen Bajram Berisha expresses his displeasure with KESCO's request, for this reason he wants protests to be held to oppose the increase in the price of electricity.

"The people cannot afford it, because it is a big crisis in every aspect, the prices of all things have increased.

The price of wood, pellets, everything has gone up, so it's unaffordable.

It should go out in protests", says Berisha.

Another citizen, Ibush Shasivari, says that citizens cannot afford the rising cost of electricity in this time of crisis.

"It is impossible, because I am a pensioner, so with a pension of 200 euros, what should I do, what should I pay first - water, electricity, telephone, rent and all?

If they make electricity more expensive, it will be a big mistake, because they are not thinking about pensioners at all.

How can this increase be done, when the economy is zero", he says.

Likewise, Remzije Krasniqi says that the country is in crisis, it would be unaffordable to raise the fees even for pensioners.

"This month I retired, the rise is very unaffordable, but we have nothing to do.

These people (the government and KESCO) should think about us as well, how do we get their salaries... He was talking about everyone, not just himself, I see other citizens as well, that they are in crisis", she says.

The other citizen, who did not want to be identified, says that the increase in the price of electricity is unacceptable because there are families living with low incomes.

"Is it okay compared to the income and the state of the population in Kosovo?

It is not, this is beyond any norm and unacceptable for us, but we have no power to change it.

It is not right that there are people who live on 150 euros, what he does", he says.

Meanwhile, KESCO's spokesperson, Viktor Buzhala, told KP that the high energy costs are not being covered through the tariffs and subsidies promised by the Government.

"KSCO has applied for an extraordinary review of tariffs because two indicators did not go as it was foreseen in the last review.

The first is the government subsidy in the amount of 90 million euros, which has not been allocated to us, that is, not a single cent, so until today, about 33 million euros had to be allocated.

Whereas, the second indicator is the import price, which was predicted to be much lower than it is in reality.

We went with prices that go somewhere above 500 euros per megawatt, while during July it reached over 730 euros per megawatt on international exchanges," he says.

Spokesman Buzhala has also said that they do not know how much electricity will be more expensive, but he has admitted that there will be an increase.

Even Buzhala says that the country has already entered an energy crisis, which according to him will deepen even further.

"We are at the stage where we have applied for the maximum allowed revenues, while we are also preparing the application for the fees, which cover those revenues.

The maximum allowed revenues, the request is to reach 466 million euros, which is 119 million euros above those approved earlier, which were 347 million euros, but there was also a government subsidy plus 90 million euros.

So the difference is currently 29 million euros.

What percentage does the rise in energy tariffs account for?

There is no percentage yet, as the request has not been finalized, and we are still in the process.

I can't speculate about numbers... But there will be an increase, because the parameters have been met and the 5 percent of expenses above those allowed has been exceeded.

And when this is exceeded,

certainly the parameters and legal conditions for extraordinary tariff review are met... Will there be an energy crisis even if a price increase occurs?

The energy crisis is happening today, let alone in winter, it is inevitable.

The indicators show this", he says.

The supplier with Universal Electricity Service in Kosovo, KESCO, has officially applied on Tuesday to the Office of the Energy Regulator, for an extraordinary review of the maximum allowed revenues, ERO announced on Tuesday.

The head of ERO, in a response to KosovaPress, said that this institution is in the process of examining the application and will keep the public informed about the actions that will be taken.

During the day, the Minister of Economy, Artane Rizvanolli emphasized that the Government of Kosovo will soon execute the means for subsidizing electricity, in response to KESCO's application for an increase in energy tariffs.

She stated in a media conference that the government is committed not to allow the increase in energy prices.

The Office of the Energy Regulator of Kosovo (ERO) approved on February 8, 2022 the new bills with an increase only for one category of consumers, which came into force a day later.

Customers after crossing the threshold of 800 kilowatts, the consumption difference is billed at 5.9 cents per kilowatt during low tariffs and at 12.5 cents per kilowatt during high tariffs.

/Telegraph/