The problem for the companies is not to buy electricity, but to pay for it, the businessmen explain, and confirmation comes from Elektropstopanstvo na Makedonija. These days on the world stock exchanges electricity is 3 to 4 times more expensive than it was last year. The situation is similar everywhere and everyone has this problem, which is why the reactions from the governments have started. Signals for help are also coming from our government, but now the key question is whether it will arrive on time, because expensive electricity can jeopardize the operation of companies, but also increase prices and cause additional inflation.

The Buchim copper mine is one of the first to procure electricity on the open market. But now "his misfortune" is that he has a day-to-day contract.

- "Buchim" procures electricity from "EDS". We do not have a long-term contract, but procurement and prices are on a daily basis. In another period it proved to be a good solution, but now it is very bad. The price of electricity that we procure now is 3 to 4 times higher than last year. It contributes 20 percent to the final cost - says Nikolajcho Nikolov, former president of the Macedonian Mining Association (MAR) and head of the Buchim copper mine, who retired this summer but is closely monitoring the energy market since the beginning of liberalization in 2007.

Nikolov says that for the time being the mines somehow manage to produce at this price.

- The situation is clear, who can pay, will work. But it will not be a surprise if some businessmen give up the contracts for electricity supply and stop the process - says Nikolov.

The high price for the company is confirmed by the director of ESM, Vasko Kovacevski. He says that the expectations are for the electricity market to stabilize, but stressed that in the meantime the Government must and will intervene with measures to remedy the situation.

The smallest companies, as well as households, are supplied with electricity by the Universal Supplier EVN Home, but all the others go to the free market through traders.

- If an electricity trader cancels the contract, then EVN as a supplier will ultimately supply the company with electricity. The price at which EVN does that is the one that is on the Hungarian stock exchange HUDEX plus 50 percent - says Kovacevski.

As for the households and small companies that supply electricity from the universal supplier "EVN Home", that electricity contingent is fully provided by ESM.

- Our legal obligation is 70 percent, but our electricity is drastically cheaper than that of the free market and in order to protect households, the Government has obliged us to provide 100 percent satisfaction of needs. We are doing everything in our power to continue to fully meet the needs of households and small companies with domestic electricity - said Kovacevski.