At the end of last month, ERC received price requests from MEPSO for electricity transmission and from Elektrodistribucija for the activity of electricity distribution. These are two network activities for which ERC sets a price, while the rest, such as market activities, is the procurement of electricity that the universal supplier makes on a free market, to which ELEM is obliged to offer at least 70% of its needs. We do not have the final data yet, that during this week bids will have to be submitted for the price of electricity. energy for the period from July to December 31, so we as the ERC that determines the price do not know what the price will be offered to this trend, so the speculations that appear in the public are not correct and somewhere next week, after The tender will end and bids will be submitted, ERC will come up with concrete figures, said for Utrinski briefing the President of the Regulatory Commission for Energy and Water Services, Marko Bislimoski and added that ERC affects only 38% of the final price, ie for transmission and distribution of el. energy, while for procurement have no impact.

- The market of el. energy in our country is liberalized and about 55% of electricity needs. energy is provided on the free market by bilateral agreements, which determine the suppliers and consumers and we do not influence there. The average price in this market was around 59 euros per megawatt hour in 2020, and now in 2021 we have a serious increase in the price of electricity. energy on the free market and is due to the increase in the price of the most relevant stock exchange in the region - "Hupex" which is located in Budapest and somewhere the price is 75 euros per megawatt hour. As a benchmark, the price at which ELEM sells to EVN Home is 38,8 euros per megawatt hour and is far lower than that on the free market. That one protection mechanism that is in the Law on Energy itself, the largest state-owned company for the production of electricity. energy is to offer a price for the universal supplier, primarily for households. That protection mechanism works. What should happen in the next period is that ESM, in addition to the sales it makes on the regulated market, will have to be more active on the free electricity market. energy in order to secure greater profits and have the opportunity for increased investment, says Bislimovski.

To get the results of the tender that will be this week and we will come up with initial calculations and proposed solutions that could be taken to avoid a price shock among citizens, said Bislimovski and added that the figures with which the opposition leader is bidding (15 and 18%) have no chance of happening.

-At this moment, the cost for environmental protection, which is determined by law, and we apply it when carrying the prices for it, is very low and is 0,03 to 0,08 denars, depending on the derivative in question. We are all talking about a healthy living environment and I guess the intention of the Government is such that more funds can be collected that would be locally spent and will be used primarily for renewable energy sources in the country. And if this is introduced, we will still have the lowest price of diesel in the region and in Europe, adds Bislimovski.