The restoration of order with tariffs is in process, however, an efficient parliament and new laws are required for certain changes. It was stated by Representative of the President in the Cabinet of Ministers Andriy Gerus on his Facebook page.
He stressed that Volodymyr Zelenskyy had already convened two meetings on the possibility of lowering tariffs for the population.
"However, this should not cause devaluation, additional inflation or economic crisis. The work on this is in progress. Some changes require an efficient parliament and new laws," Andriy Gerus said.
According to him, a comprehensive plan for addressing this issue will include several items.
In particular, this is a reduction in tariffs where it can be done without negative side effects, demonopolization of energy markets. In addition, it is necessary to increase gas production by attracting foreign investors for this purpose. Refusal of imported gas will make it possible to reduce the price by 20-30%.
It is also about revision of the rules for granting subsidies, since some categories of people were deprived of them unfairly.
"In order to have money in the budget for subsidies, we will have to deprive some oligarchs of tax benefits and preferences," Andriy Gerus said.
He also stressed the importance of energy efficiency and thermal modernization of housing stock. After all, the lower the energy consumption, the lower the cost of the services provided.
In addition, according to the Representative of the President in the Cabinet of Ministers, the growth of income of population will reduce the severity of the tariff issue for households.
"Restraining tariff growth is important, and this work is both public and non-public. In particular, recently there was information that the regulator considered the possibility to raise gas tariffs for the population starting from July 1 by 10-15% and electricity tariffs - by 150%. We believe this can’t be done without trust and understanding of society. Before doing this, we need to demonstrate strict and fair actions of regulators as regards energy monopolies and show that there is liability for stealing tariff funds. As far as I understand, our opinion was taken into account," Andriy Gerus emphasized.
He also apologized for his unfortunate phrase that Volodymyr Zelenskyy joked about the reduction of tariffs.
"This is the result of lacking political experience, in particular in dealing with journalists. Of course, tariffs are a sensitive issue, which is not appropriate for jokes or frivolous comments," the Representative of the President in the Cabinet of Ministers noted.