In the last ten years, the number of people in arrears with utility bills has fallen to a fraction. Since the introduction of the overhead reduction, the number of residential consumers with debts and the amount of debts have decreased significantly in the electricity, natural gas and district heating sectors as well - the Hungarian Energy and Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (MEKH) pointed out based on its database. A similarly improving trend can be observed for non-residential subscribers as well.

While in January 2013, more than 800,000 residential consumers were late paying their natural gas bills, this number was 294,000 in January 2022.

At the same time, the natural gas providers' debt to the public has also decreased significantly: the total private debt of almost thirty billion registered in January 2013 has melted by a third to less than nine billion forints by the first month of 2022. In January 2013, there were almost 70,000 late subscribers in the non-residential sector, which decreased to less than 22,000 by January 2022, and their total debt decreased from HUF 30 billion to HUF 7.5 billion.

In the electricity sector in January 2013, the office registered 1.8 million arrears residential users with a total debt of almost HUF 30 billion. As of January this year, the number of residential subscribers accumulating debt fell by a third (652,000), and their total debt fell to 12 billion.

The office now counts half as many non-residential consumers registered with arrears: while in January 2013 there were 100,000 of them, in January 2022 there will be only 47,000.

In the district heating sector, the amount of household account debts was halved during the period under review, the total debt decreased from 15 billion to 7 billion, and at the same time, the number of arrears also decreased, from 188,000 to 141,000. In the case of non-residential ratepayers, the amount of debts also decreased significantly, from HUF 5 billion to HUF 1.6 billion.

2022Plus:

With the reduction of utilities debts, households have obviously become stronger, and the risk of people losing their homes has also decreased. It can be seen that the government's measure, which is favorable for everyone, has been well tested. The leaders of the opposition, although they would really like to be able to sell the energy business to foreign companies again, who would supply them at market prices, so to speak - the country would be particularly involved in this now, as there are horror market prices -, their voters have also done well for the government with this for 9 years now with its existing measure. (Why do they still want to pay more, why is agent Márki-Zay's appeal to the free market attractive? Who knows? Hello, wake-up call! Don't vote against your interests!

Anyway, this is what freedom is all about, my dear liberal friends: people are able to recognize their interests and assert them without harming others. Ask yourself the question: what is in my and my relatives' interests?

And give the answer on Sunday. I recommend the right answer!  

Source: Hungarian Nation

Featured image: dehir.hu