Power Play: Elektroprivreda’s 20% Electricity Price Hike Sparks Outrage Among Citizens

Elektroprivreda RS is asking the regulator for permission to increase electricity to the economy and citizens by as much as 20 percent, Capital reveals.

In addition, ERS is also requesting a reduction in usage thresholds in its favour, and at the customer’s expense, confirmed to Capital from several sources.

Namely, homes that currently use up to 500 kilowatts per month pay the lowest electricity price. However, ERS is now asking for that threshold to be lowered to 300 kilowatts.

Also, ERS requests that the second threshold, where electricity is slightly more expensive than the first and is currently 1,000 kilowatts, be reduced to 500 kilowatts per month.

As well as the population, ERS demanded an increase in electricity prices for the economy as well.

As Capital learns, a few days ago at the Republika Srpska Chamber of Commerce, a meeting was held between ERS representatives and the business community, where they were told to slowly consider in their business the new cost caused by the price increase.

“We were told to count on a 15 percent increase due to the huge increase in their costs, although I saw a willingness to go even lower. Realistically, they always ask for a higher percentage, with the fact that later they usually agree to a lower price so that it appears that everyone wins.“, one of the businessmen who attended that meeting tells Capital.

He added that at ERS, they justified themselves by the huge increase in business costs, which was mainly caused by the losses opinion.

Capital tried several times today to contact ERS Director Luka Petrović and Minister of Energy and Mining RS Petro Đokić for comment and explanation of this proposal, but they did not answer our phone.

The price of electricity has been approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission of the Republika Srpska (RRS), and the ERS will have to prove unequivocally that there is a just reason for the increase.

It will be interesting how ERS will justify some pointless expenses of its subsidiaries, such as the allocation of millions of marks for advertising and promoting the monopoly position.

For example, “Hidroelektrane na Trebišnjica” (HET) recently announced a tender worth 750,000 KM for promotion and personal marketing.

In general, the business results for the three quarters of this year show a huge drop in the profits of manufacturing companies.

RiTE Ugljevik is in the red by 30 million marks, HET’s profit fell by 13.7 million marks, and RiTE Gacko stopped production last week due to poor coal quality.