Podgorica, March 11, 2019 – The Ministry of Economy did not deny the data from MANS’ estimate which shows that the consumption of electricity of 300 kilowatts is not sufficient for a decent life of a Montenegrin citizen, and cannot deny it because the figures are unwavering.
According to these figures, 300 kilowatts per month means that you can consume ten kilowatts per day, which is sufficient only for the work of a small refrigerator, for two hours of running radiators, two hours of TV watching, while boiler and stove can be turned on for one hour, washing machine for half an hour, and two light bulbs can be lit for four hours.
It is clear that this is not enough for the needs of a single person, let alone the average household, and that it is not some sort of a luxury, but a bare necessity.
It is also audacious that the Ministry of Economy refers to the average electricity consumption in the countries of Western Europe, as it is generally known that households in these countries do not use electricity for heating, but mostly gas. And the very example of the UK, stated by the Ministry, shows that only 10 % of the population on that island uses electricity for heating, while others use mostly gas.
Also, it is more than hypocritical from the Government to state that “we do not have the right as a society to make electricity a social category by artificially subsidizing it even for those who are not in a state of social need.”
This especially when it is known that the same Government forced consumers to pay subsidies to domestic tycoons and alleged “foreign investors” who sell us electricity from the so-called renewable energy sources (small hydropower plants and wind power plants).
Only on this basis, we paid a little less than €12 million in the past five years, and this year we will pay between 15 and €20 million, that is, in the next decade, between 150 and €200 million will literally be “seized” from the consumers.
When it is necessary to fill private pockets, the Government does not remember the subsidies, while when it is necessary to protect the citizens, they are saying that electricity should not be a social category.
Also, it is inappropriate for the Government to constantly refer to the information that 60 % of the country’s measuring points make up consumption of 300 kilowatts, as it itself states that 80 % of these measuring points is in the north of the country where the population is dominantly using woods for heating.
Bearing in mind that this calculation also includes empty flats, households or facilities where people do not live all the time, it is more than clear that the actual rather than simulated consumption of the average household is significantly higher than 300 kilowatts projected by the Government.
Public Finance Programme
Coordinator Ines Mrdović
