Levica demands tariff reform: “Electricity is cheap only on paper, but weighs most on people's wallets”
Levica says EUROSTAT data for the second half of 2025 show electricity is the heaviest budget burden in the Western Balkans and urges structural changes.
"In North Macedonia, electricity is cheap only if you look at the nominal price expressed in euros – then it is approximately at the level of Serbia and Albania. But much more important is the question of how much that electricity actually weighs on the pocket of the person who pays it. According to EUROSTAT data for the second half of 2025, when the price of electricity is compared with the purchasing power of the population, North Macedonia has the highest burden among Western Balkan countries," Levica said.
Levica warns that nominal prices alone do not show the real cost for households. The party points to EUROSTAT calculations using the Purchasing Power Standard (PPS) to argue that, once differences in price levels and incomes are taken into account, electricity claims a larger share of household budgets in North Macedonia than in neighboring countries.
The party also notes that "100 denars do not have the same value for a person with a minimum wage and for a person with high income," and says the central issue is how much citizens can buy with their wages and what share of the household budget an electricity bill consumes. In that context, Levica criticizes the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for frequent changes to rules and tariff models that, it says, benefit a political-energy oligarchy while shifting the cost of a dysfunctional system onto consumers.
Proposals to change tariffs and market structure
Levica proposes keeping block tariffs but widening the time window for the cheaper tariff so that lower-cost electricity is realistically available to more households. The party argues for legal designation of ELEM Sales as the universal supplier, with a wholesale margin set at half of the current EVN Home margin of 9.9%.
"Instead of a system in which a private intermediary increases its profit at the expense of citizens, the electricity system must be put to work for the public interest," Levica says. The party also calls for a multi-tariff regime — winter and summer seasons with several hourly blocks — plus a dedicated solar tariff to better match production with demand, capture excess solar generation and reduce bills.
Levica concludes that energy must not be an instrument for enriching intermediaries and oligarchs but a strategic sector through which the state ensures affordable electricity and protects citizens' living standards.
Photo: press material from the event
