March 31 (SeeNews) - The Croatian government will increase by 900 million euro ($978 million) the capital of state-owned power utility Hrvatska Elektroprivreda (HEP), including through a shareholders’ loan of 400 million euro to stabilise its business and ensure investments, prime minister Andrej Plenkovic said.
The loan will be the first step to support the national electricity company, the second one will be a capital increase, for which negotiations are under way with the competent bodies of the European Commission, Plenkovic told a weekly cabinet meeting on Thursday, as seen in a video published on the government's website.
The loan will be a part of the government’s 1.7 billion euro package of measures to support households and the economy amidst rising energy prices. The package of measures enters into force on April 1 and includes freezing electricity prices until September 30.
“This way we will enable HEP not only to function normally but also to have funds for investments necessary in the context of the green transition," Plenkovic said, adding that by these measures the government has achieved two main goals - security of energy supply and affordable energy prices.
($ = 0.919 euro)
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