B.Sunduijav, a pressman of the Energy Regulatory Commission spoken about the price increase of electricity.

-Reports say that the price of electricity will be increased in the first quarter of next year. How much will it increase by?

Our suggestion is to increase the electricity price up to 15 percent per kilowatt for household electricity consumption. But the decision will be made this week. Otherwise electricity prices will be increased 15 percent more than current price. Then it will cost 96 MNT per kilowatt. The cost of electricity within 150 kilowatt will be 79.80 MNT. But the cost of big entities and mining company’s electricity consumption is expected to be higher.

-What is the reason behind the increase of electricity prices?

There are three main reasons behind it.  Currently our Power Plants operate unprofitably. Electricity consumption cost is only 86 MNT while its producing cost is 101 MNT. Power Plants spend 25,000 MNT for 1 Gkal of heat production and sell it for 12,600 MNT.

Stations need equipment for restoration and repairs. Power stations have lost an estimated 50 billion this year. Therefore we made the decision to increase electricity prices.

-Will the electricity cost increase affect the market?  What have the Authority for Fair Competition and Consumer Protection (AFCCP) said on this issue?

We delivered our suggestion to the Authority for Fair Competition and Consumer Protection (AFCCP) . They will respond next week. But the chairman of the Authority for Fair Competition and Consumer Protection (AFCCP) Mr. O.Magnai said, “It will be ok, the estimation is realistic”. We conducted surveys of staple product price increases such as bread, milk etc. Then we will cooperate with the Authority for Fair Competition and Consumer Protection (AFCCP) on the issue.