Hungarian residential consumers will continue to pay the lowest price for gas and the second lowest price for electricity in Europe, confirmed Hungary’s newly established Ministry of Energy, announcing that 2023 won’t bring changes in the energy bills of Hungarian households whether they consume below or above the average consumption.
“The government will do everything possible this year as well to maintain the reduction in utility costs that started ten years ago,” stated Csaba Lantos, Hungary’s Minister of Energy adding that the most important task of the Ministry of Energy, which was established in December is to guarantee affordable prices and secure energy supply.
Therefore, household energy bills in Hungary will stay in the current level until the end of April when the Hungarian Energy and Public Utilities Regulatory Authority will set household electricity and gas prices above average consumption. “Since the current prices will remain in effect until May, families can count on the same prices for the entire heating season,” highlighted the minister. The minister emphasised, Hungarian households are paying the cheapest price for natural gas and the second cheapest price for electricity in Europe.
Caps on residential gas and electricity prices have been a central policy element of the government of Viktor Orbán for years, however the costs of the system surged this year due to the energy crisis, that hit hard economies all around Europe, including Hungary. The price cap on utility bills put a huge burden on the state budget and the government was forced to scrap the cap for households consuming over the average from August. In 2023, the government is expected to spend more than 2,600 billion forints to keep the energy price caps in place and to pay public sector energy bills.
