New Survey: Majority Supports Maintaining Utility Price Cuts and January Price Freeze

Rolling back the measure would lead to a significant increase in household utility costs for families, warned the government commissioner.

Illustration (Source: Shutterstock)

More than nine out of ten respondents have heard that the government introduced a utility price freeze in January to protect families, and nearly 70 percent of those surveyed agree with it. The survey, conducted in cooperation between Szazadveg Foundation and MTVA, was presented on the Friday evening broadcast of the M1 news channel.

Photo: Shutterstock

Following this year’s record cold temperatures, the government decided to cover the additional costs of higher heating consumption in January for families. Meanwhile, a report by the energy authority showed that

in March, Hungarians once again paid the lowest utility bills in Europe. This is largely thanks to the government’s utility cost cuts scheme introduced in 2013, which reduces the financial burden on households by nearly 800 billion forints each year.

The measure enjoys strong public support, the survey showed, revealing that nearly 70 percent of respondents agree that the government should maintain the utility price cuts in the future, and similar results were recorded regarding the January price freeze.

Szilard Nemeth, the government commissioner responsible for maintaining utility price reductions, said in the program that:

“We ensure affordable and secure energy supply for families and, of course, for the Hungarian economy.”

He pointed out that

if the plans attributed to the Tisza Party were implemented, household utility bills would increase several times compared to the current level.

Szilard Nemeth emphasized that all four two-thirds election victories were about this issue. When people went to vote, the choice was whether utility price cuts would remain or be abolished.

This has come out much more sharply now, among other things, with the Tisza Party continuously "drip-feeding" the message that utility price cuts are "finished,"

the government commissioner said.

According to estimates, if regulated utility prices were abolished, average monthly gas bills would increase by 31,000 forints, while electricity bills would rise by 16,000 forints, he stated in the broadcast.

Cover photo: Illustration (Source: Shutterstock)

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