Government says speculation about rise in utility tariffs is groundless

15:30, 15.01.2013 1 min read

Reports in the Ukrainian media about the alleged intention of the National Commission for Utilities Regulation to increase utility tariffs are untrue, reads a statement posted on the government's Web site on Monday.

The Mirror Weekly newspaper reported on allegedly planned tariff increases, giving the calculations made by the commission last summer to bring the tariffs to economic levels.

"In the autumn of 2012, the calculations were transferred to the Cabinet of Ministers for approval. The calculations showed that bringing the tariffs to [economically justified] levels would be quite significant and tangible for the public. Since the social protection of the population is a priority in government policy, the schedule of tariff adjustments was rejected. Unfortunately, neither the journalists of the Mirror Weekly newspaper nor journalists from other publications found it necessary to apply to the government or the commission for comments and explanations, and therefore spread misleading information," reads the statement.