PM: gov't to subsidise electricity bills for about 1 million citizens
Household electricity bills will be subsidised again for citizens below an estimated social score, continuing the Georgian government's 2020-2021 programme. Photo: Brian Talbot/CC BY-NC 2.0.
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The Georgian government will subsidise electricity bill costs for about one million socially underprivileged citizens, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili announced on Monday.
Designed to aid the economically "most underprivileged" parts of the public, the programme will run throughout the year 2022, the head of the government said.
The initiative is a continuation of the social relief package drawn up and maintained by the government between the start of the pandemic in the early 2020 and the end of 2021.
Garibashvili said his government had decided to continue the programme of the subsidies, targeting the individuals at or below the 150,000 social score threshold used to assess their material conditions.
The Georgian government has identified business sectors in the country which will benefit from a state subsidy which will cover 50% of the increased electricity fees that went into effect on January 1.
The government will cover the utility fees of certain citizens starting November for four months based on their level of consumption of power and gas.
The Georgian government will cover utility fees, including sanitary service, gas and water bills for three months (March, April, May) for households which consume less than 200 kWh of electricity and 200 cubic meters of natural gas per month.
The price of natural gas will increase in the Georgian capital city of Tbilisi by 8 GEL per 100 cubic meter of gas starting June 1, announces the Georgian National Energy and Water Supply Regulatory Commission (GNERC).
As part of the Georgian prime minister’s initiative, vulnerable families scoring 70,000 or below on the social threshold score and registered in Tbilisi will receive support from the state in covering their utility bills.
The Investigation Service of the Ministry of Finance will inspect validity of tax calculations by Telmiko, an electricity distribution company in Tbilisi, following complaints of consumers regarding their increased utility bills.