January 18 (SeeNews) - Romania will widen the scope of caps on energy prices and subsidies for households and some small companies as of February 1, prime minister Nicolae Ciuca said.
The government will issue an emergency decree that will cap the price of electricity at 0.68 lei per kWh, while for natural gas the price ceiling will be set at 0.31 lei per kWh, Ciuca said during a televised news conference on Monday evening after a meeting of the governing coalition.
The government will also increase the volume of consumption to which subsidised retail prices apply to 500 kW per month from 300 kW.
The emergency decree will be in force from February 1 to March 31, with the impact on budget expenditure estimated at 3 billion lei ($692 million/ 606 million euro).
Besides households, hospitals, schools, small companies and some food producers will also benefit from the aid scheme
The government has enforced a similar scheme for electricity and gas bills starting November 1, which benefitted some 6 million households.
(1 euro=4.9440 lei)
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