Slovenia to Keep Electricity, Gas Price Caps in 2024

It will also keep the cap on natural gas prices for households until the end of April, the end of the heating season in Slovenia. The maximum allowed price for gas for households will be 59.9 euros (63.5 U.S. dollars) per megawatt-hour between January and April 2024, down from 73 euros.

"The conditions on the global gas markets are projected to tighten in the coming months and the government wants to ensure stable prices for households through the heating season," it said in a statement after its regular session.

The caps were first introduced in 2022 and were to expire at the end of this year.

The government said that electricity bills for households could increase by more than 50 percent if the price cap expires at the end of this year. From January 2024, the cap will apply to only 90 percent of the electricity a household uses, and the rest will be linked to the market price.

"This way we will encourage the efficient use (of electricity), enable competition among suppliers and a gradual return to a free market," the government said, adding that the price cap of household electricity will remain at around 100 euros per megawatt-hour.

The government also expects the caps to help reduce inflation, which reached 7.5 percent year-on-year in September, up from 6.2 percent in August.

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