English

Lukashenka orders energy ministry to make public formula of setting utility rates

 

Alyaksandr Lukashenka directed on March 1 that the energy ministry should make public a transparent and clear formula of setting utility rates for households.

Speaking at a meeting of the Council of Ministers, the Belarusian leader said that he had given similar orders in the past, but they had not been fulfilled.

“We insult households by constantly saying that they don’t pay,” the presidential press office quoted him as saying. “Go from the beginning to the end, calculate the cost of each service.”

Mr. Lukashenka criticized the performance of the energy ministry, describing it as “a state within a state” that offered no transparent information about the true cost of utility and housing maintenance services. He added that the cost of utility services may be pushed up by mismanagement.

“Today you demand an increase in electricity prices, utility rates [for households], though you don’t even have any calculations,” he said.

Mr. Lukashenka ordered the State Control Committee to oversee whether the energy ministry complies with his directive. // BelaPAN