TIRANA, Dec. 24 – The energy regulatory entity is expected to approve in the next few days a hike in electricity prices for 2015 after government has decided to lift the 300 kWh threshold charging lower prices. The hike which is expected to affect around three quarters of Albanian households with a monthly consumption of 300 kWh is expected at 30 percent.
Erjon Braçe, the head of the parliamentary economy committee representing the ruling Socialist Party-led government, said the unified electricity tariff after the lift of the 300 kWH threshold will not be higher than 10 lek/kWh (Euro 0.07), compared to 7.7 lek/kWh currently.
In its 2015 budget, government says it has allocated 1.6 billion lek (Euro 11.3 million) in compensation to people in need for the expected increase in electricity prices in 2015.
Currently, Albanian households pay electricity bills under a two-tier price level which charges them 7.7 lek/kWh for a consumption of up to 300 kWh a month and 13.5 lek for each kWh they consume above the 300 kWh threshold (VAT excluded). Average tariffs for business consumers vary from 8.5 lek/ kWh to 10 lek kWh based on low or medium voltage power access. Meanwhile, state institutions pay 11.5 to 14 lek kWh.
Power prices during the past decade have increased by 63 percent climbing from an average of 5.71 kWh in 2005 to 9.53 lek kWh currently.
