Slovenian government introduces price cap on electricity

Ljubljana [Slovenia], July 14 (ANI/Xinhua): The Slovenian government on Thursday introduced a one-year cap on electricity prices for households and small businesses to ease the burden of rising energy prices on citizens.
Regulated prices will stay in place from September this year till the end of August 2023, Infrastructure Minister Bojan Kumer told a news conference after a regular government session.
He said the maximum price for a kilowatt-hour of electricity will be 0.118 euro, and the government will, from Sept.1, also reduce taxes on electricity. Thanks to these changes, Kumer said, an average household will pay 15 to 30 per cent less for electricity than at present. He added that suppliers will still be able to sell electricity at profit, although their margins will be smaller.
Due to rising global energy prices, Slovenia's inflation soared to the highest level in more than 20 years, with year-on-year inflation measured by the harmonized consumer price index reaching 10.8 per cent in June, up from 8.7 per cent in May and 1.7 per cent in June 2021, the country's Statistical Office has reported.
Analysts fear that high inflation could curb economic growth in the country. The European Commission earlier on Thursday forecast Slovenia's gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 5.4 per cent this year, down from 8.1 per cent in 2021. (ANI/Xinhua)