Georgia, Tbilisi / Тrend corr N. Kirtskhalia / All energy consumers in Georgian regions, including refugees, will not have to pay for energy, the Georgian Energy Minister Alexander Khetaguri said on air in the Rustavi-2 TV on 12 December.
He stressed that the population would not have to pay for the energy consumed by 1 July 2007. In Tbilisi the privilege will also cover refugees. However, they will not have to pay for the energy consumed by 1 March 2007.
"As for natural gas consumers in Tbilisi, all debts of the population and the refugees were written off," the Minister said. All debts will be covered by the Georgian Government and agreement with the gas and energy distributing companies have been already achieved, he said.
Khetaguri guaranteed no company would demand from the consumers to pay off the debts. "And that is not an election campaign, as it was summer when the Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili gave us the commission, and up to now we have been negotiating with the companies," he stressed.