Lithuania mulls postponing power market liberalization deadline – PM

VILNIUS – The Lithuanian government is set to propose measures aimed at mitigating the affect of rising gas, electricity and heating prices for households, with postponing the deadline for the liberalization of the country's electricity market being one of them, Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte says.

"The government will definitely present proposals as we believe that spike is temporary and will level out over time, so we need legal amendments to figure out how to distribute that over time," the prime minister told journalists at the parliament on Tuesday.

In her words, the Energy Ministry is already drafting changes, and discussions are under way on postponing the final deadline for the liberalization of the country's electricity market.

"If we see that it might provide additional benefit for consumers, we will also make that proposal," Simonyte said,

The electricity price for consumer using the smallest amount of it (under 1,000 kWh per year) is set to go up by around 20 percent as of next year. The gas price for household using gas for cooking is estimated to go up by 50 percent, and those using gas for heating will see their bill rise about 80 percent, the State National Energy Regulatory Council (VERT) estimates.