“By maintaining the utility reduction, the government protects Hungarian families from the sanctioned surcharge of energy carriers. As far as average consumption is concerned, domestic residential users still have access to natural gas at the cheapest price and electricity at the second lowest price in Europe. From January, electricity and gas prices above the reduced utility level will not change either, so the burdens of the approximately six million consumers entitled to universal service will not increase,” announced Energy Minister Csaba Lantos, according to the ministry’s statement.
The Hungarian Energy and Public Utilities Regulatory Office (MEKH) establishes the price of electricity purchased in the universal service, which reflects the retail market costs and the competitive market costs of natural gas, based on the data provided by the service provider. According to the MEKH’s decision, the same prices as the current ones must be applied in this round as of January 1, 2023. The new year will therefore not bring changes in the tariffs of residential users below or above the average consumption, including, among others, those living in condominiums or multi-generational family houses, as well as in state and local government rental apartments, the head of the ministry informed.
According to the announcement, the minister emphasized: among European users, Hungarians get the cheapest natural gas and pay the second cheapest price for electricity. Even the two most important energy carriers cost less than the costs of households, which exceed the average consumption by a fifth, only for Serbian consumers, he added.
He announced that next year’s first determination period for household electricity and gas prices above average consumption lasts until the end of April instead of March. Therefore, at the beginning of 2023, unlike the previous practice, tariffs above the reduced utility level will be fixed for four months instead of three. Since the current prices will remain in effect until May, families can count on the same prices for the entire heating season. He added that from January, the competitive market prices above the discount band payable by the approximately 150,000 micro-enterprises remaining in the universal service will not be changed.
“Next year, the government will do everything possible to maintain the reduction in utilities that started ten years ago. He had already stipulated that the system usage fees could not rise even from January. Due to the sanctions measures, the international prices of energy carriers have increased to historic heights. In Hungary, the utility reduction and the Utility Protection Fund created in the summer save families from drastic cost increases. The most important mission of the independent Ministry of Energy is to guarantee affordable prices and safe supply,” said Csaba Lantos, according to the announcement.
MTI
