VILNIUS - The Seimas (Lithuanian parliament) has passed a law allowing heating suppliers to change prices on a monthly basis instead of the previous twice per year. The law will allow companies to adjust their prices more often to adhere to fluctuations in energy prices.
The change in law is expected to benefit consumers, but some doubt that the law will actually be workable in reality.
"This bill is actually a benefit to the consumer and enables more responsiveness to the changing of fuel prices," Social Democrat Birute Vesaite said. She also said the effectiveness of the law will depend on how the National Control Commission for Prices and Energy (NCCPE) handles the calculations.
Previously the price of heating could only be changed twice a year, or if the price of fuel changed more than 15 percent.
Kestutis Dauksys told TBT that once per quarter would be adequate.
"I think this too quickly makes changes every month because it is hard to calculate. One time per quarter would be enough. This would be good for consumers 's once per month and once per quarter would be the same 's if you go up here and down here it is the same."
"If we change one time in the month, nobody knows how we can take data for the price for this month. If we do it at the first of the month, we have no technical positions to base our price on," he said.
At the time The Baltic Times went to press, the NCCPE was unavailable for comment on the law.
A total of 97 out of a possible 107 votes were in favor of the change. The president still has to sign the bill into law, but is not expected to veto.
