ZAGREB, 17 August, 2022 - The nongovernmental organisation "The Voice of Entrepreneurs" (UGP) on Wednesday urged the government to immediately respond to the volatile situation on the gas market and to price hikes, or it would stage a protest in Zagreb's main square.
The NGO issued a press release in which it warned that the unstable developments on the gas market resulted in multiple price rises, which is why micro, small and medium-sized businesses need the government's assistance and intervention.
It also criticised new gas supply contracts which are being sent recently by the Gradska Plinara Zagreb distributor of gas supplies in a wider area of Zagreb.
The association warns that these new contracts include a new means of payment through debentures in the amount of 1,000 or 2,000 euros. Furthermore, the Gradska Plinara Zagreb distributor stops offering fixed prices per kilowatt hour. Instead, the new draft contracts provide for fluctuating prices which will depend on the average prices on the natural gas market in Austria or Hungary, and the NGO warns that these prices could be between record high €150 and €200 per kilowatt hour.
The UGP highlights the fact that the distributor also shortened the time frame for signing the contracts until 1 September. Otherwise, the Gradska Plinara Zagreb supplier will kick off the process of cessation of the provision of gas supplies.
This short period of less than a month is not enough for businesses to search for more favourable gas supply distributors, says the association.
The association's leader Hrvoje Bujas said that in the event of the authorities' failure to take strong action, about 20,000 members of the association, who are mainly micro businesses and SMEs, will stage a protest rally in the centre of Zagreb.
