Free Europe describes in detail the situation around the imposed moratorium on electricity prices for the regulated market: On Wednesday, December 15, 2022, in the midst of parliamentary debates, parliament party GERB proposed imposing a moratorium on prices for electricity, heat and water services fixing the price at the levels from January 1, 2021. The proposal was accepted with strong support by all parties except one.
A day later, the ruling party called for a review of the decision, but without lifting the moratorium. They proposed as a new fixed price levels the one from December 16, and gave a deadline for the moratorium – until March 31, 2022. This is exactly the final version for which the MPs voted and it was approved by the votes of the ruling parties.
The reason for imposing the moratorium was that on the first working day of the new government the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) proposed an increase in electricity and heat prices by an average of 13% and 16% respectively from January 1, 2022. The government announced this move of the commission as a surprise.
By definition, a moratorium is a term that means postponing or suspending an action that is expected performed. This measure is being applied in various sectors, one of the latest being the payments on loans granted by commercial banks at the beginning of the pandemic.
In the present case, this will apply to the prices for electricity, heat and water services, the increase of which will be delayed until March 31, 2022, regardless of the events in the individual markets. The moratorium is imposed only on prices of household consumers for electricity, water and heating. This means that electricity will not become more expensive for households. Businesses or the so-called non-household consumers will continue to be supplied under the free market prices.
Source: Free Europe
