(civil.ge) - There will be no swift price hike on gas for households next year, as the authorities are determined to make the anticipated gas price increase less painful for socially vulnerable people, Georgian Parliamentary Chairperson Nino Burjanadze told lawmakers at a session on December 26.
Sometime in the future the [gas] tariff will of course go up -unfortunately both for enterprises and households. The gas price is increasing elsewhere in the world and Georgia will not remain the country where [low] prices are maintained artificially, Burjanadze said.
It is not yet clear when the gas tariff will increase for households and how much the tariff will be increased. The government has not yet elaborated its final position on this issue, she added.
Burjanadze's remarks followed a demand by opposition lawmakers from the New Rights party to summon Prime Minister Zurab Nogaideli to parliament to clarify the situation with gas prices. MP Davit Gamkrelidze, the leader of New Rights party, also demanded the government to subsidize gas tariffs for households, reports Trend.
According to some estimates, the price of one cubic meter of gas for households is expected to increase from the current GEL 0,34 (approximately USD 0,19) up to GEL 0,55 (approximately USD 0,31).