Prishtina, 5 September, 2023
The Program for the Protection of Vulnerable Consumers in Electricity was launched today, this program which will have a special focus on certain groups of society, such as people with disabilities, self-supporting parents and pensioners who live alone.
In his speech, as he talked about the recent energy crisis that gripped the whole of Europe, but also the many effects of climate change that we are all experiencing every day, the Prime Minister emphasized the special importance of policies in the field of energy in each country.
The reform in the field of energy, the Prime Minister said, started with the drafting of the Energy Strategy 2022-2031, this strategy focuses on increasing the capacities for energy production with renewable sources, increasing energy efficiency, and protecting consumers of energy vulnerable.
While he mentioned a series of measures that have been undertaken in the field of energy in support of citizens, which amount to 150 million euros, he also said that during these more than a few years of government, the foundations have been laid for long-term investments in the field of energy, which reach the total value of about 700 million euros.
At the end of his speech, the Prime Minister once again reiterated the promise that in every journey, and in every reform, we never forget that we are the Government of the citizens and we will always take care of their well-being.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Finance, Labor and Transfers, Hekuran Murati, said that this program foresees that all families, which on average have less than 150 euros monthly income per family member, i.e. if a family has four members, it is foreseen that if he has less than 600 euros average monthly income, he can qualify for the program.
“The program we are presenting today is based on the family income threshold of 150 euros per member. The threshold of 150 euros is in line with the International Poverty Line for countries with high average income (where Kosovo is also listed) calculated at 5.5 dollars (5 euros) per day which is equivalent to 150 euros per month per person, according to estimates of the World Bank”.
He added that the main objective of the Program is to provide direct financial support to vulnerable electricity consumers, so that they have equal access to affordable electricity, by subsidizing their electricity bills.
The program is a 1-year plan and will be used as a pilot program to collect data and learn lessons, which will then be used to draft the long-term program.
This measure is part of the 75 million euro support package of the European Union to deal with the energy crisis.
The complete speech of the Prime Minister:
Dear Minister of Finance, Labor and Transfers, Mr. Hekuran Murati,
Dear Mr. Alessandro Biancardi, Deputy Head of the Cooperation Sector from the Office of the European Union in Kosovo,
Dear Mr. Massimiliano Paolucci, Country Director for Kosovo and North Macedonia from the World Bank,
Dear Mr. Rinor Gjonbalaj, Country Resident Director from the Millennium Challenges Corporation,
Dear Mr. Selim Thaçi, Local Representative from the International Monetary Fund,
Dear citizens,
Dear journalists,
The recent energy crisis that gripped the whole of Europe, but also the many effects of climate change that we are all experiencing every day, have highlighted the special importance of policies in the field of energy in each country.
As the Government, since the beginning of the mandate, we have shown our commitment to the just energy transition, through increasing energy efficiency and investing in renewable sources for energy production.
We started the reform in the field of energy with the drafting of the Energy Strategy 2022-2031, this strategy focuses on increasing capacities for energy production with renewable sources, increasing energy efficiency, and protecting vulnerable consumers.
We undertook a series of measures such as subsidizing efficient energy equipment for about 10,000 citizens, subsidizing electricity saving for over 200,000 families, and to prevent the increase in the price of electricity during the energy crisis, we subsidized energy tariffs for all consumers.
In addition to these measures so far, which reach a total value of about 150 million euros, we have laid the foundations for long-term investments in the field of energy, which reach a total value of about 700 million euros:
-we signed an agreement with the Millennium Challenges Corporation for batteries and accumulator reserves;
– we signed an agreement with the International Monetary Fund for the increase of energy generation capacities with renewable resources;
– we signed an agreement with the Development Bank of Germany and the European Union to increase solar heating capacities to be used as central heating;
– we finalized the agreement with the European Commission for the placement of filters in KEK;
– we organized the first auction for increasing capacities with renewable energy, in which so far we have received over 160 expressions of interest from leading companies from four continents;
– we finalized the agreement with the Development Bank of Germany for the installation of 100 M more capacities with solar energy;
– and we are close to finalizing the agreement with the World Bank on reforms in the field of energy and climate change.
Moreover, we also directed the EU support package of 75 million euros towards our citizens.
We reopened the announcement for the subsidy of energy efficient equipment; we opened the call for the support of citizens to isolate their homes; and we called for the isolation of social housing in cooperation with the municipalities, and today we have gathered here to present an important program, that of protecting vulnerable consumers.
The program that we are presenting today, which will be implemented by the Ministry of Finance, Labor and Transfers, focuses on subsidizing the electricity bill for families who qualify as vulnerable consumers of electricity. Special focus in this program will be on certain groups of society such as disabled people, self-supporting parents and pensioners who live alone.
The program for the protection of vulnerable consumers is a 1-year program that focuses on subsidizing electricity bills for vulnerable consumers whose average monthly income is below 150 euros per family member. Such a subsidy will directly reduce the financial burden that these families have from the consumption of electricity and will simultaneously ensure that these families will have an affordable supply of electricity, especially during the winter period when the supply of electricity is very low important.
As in every journey of ours, and in every reform, we never forget that we are the Government of the citizens and we will always take care of their well-being.
Thank you.
Last modified: September 5, 2023