Lithuania's energy package to include price caps, covering part of heating bills – MP

VILNIUS – The Lithuanian government is discussing a package of measures that will include covering part of heating bills and setting maximum electricity and gas prices, Mykolas Majauskas, chairman of the parliamentary Committee on Budget and Finance, said on Tuesday. 

The package will also include business support measures, which are now being coordinated, according to Majauskas.  

"This will be one of the biggest assistance packages in the whole of the EU. It will consist of four main parts," he told LRT Radio.

"The first part is about increasing incomes, the second calls for fixing energy prices (at certain levels) and covering (part of) them, the third provides for assistance to businesses, and the fourth is about investing in the future." 

The plan is to raise the minimum monthly wage by 15-19 percent and increase pensions by around 10 percent, with the non-taxable income threshold and social benefits likely to grow as well, according to Majauskas.  

Around a billion euros are to be earmarked for the second part of measures. 

This is "a very significant amount and it consists of two parts: helping to those in need by covering part of their heating costs, and setting a maximum price," the MP said. 

"Business assistance consists of loans and possible subsidies. A dialogue is currently underway with the European Commission and Lithuanian business associations on what the objectives of these measures could be," he said.

The package will also provide for investment in the future, in state-of-the-art energy technologies, in renewable energy sources and in green renovation production capacity, according to Majauskas.