Press release of the Prime Minister Edi Rama:
Hello everyone!
A few days ago, we gave very good news to small business. Today we have good news for the families in need and small businesses who have entered an act of agreement with OSHEE and have abided by the terms of the act of agreement.
There are 25,051 people with the status of social assistance beneficiary, who have started repaying the arrears in monthly instalments of 1 thousand new ALL thanks to special act of agreements for this category. The total amount that this category of families included in the acts of agreement has to pay to OSHEE is estimated at 9.7 billion ALL, or 97 million dollars, of which 5.4 billion ALL or 54 million dollars are dues for the principal, and 4.3 billion ALL or 43 million dollars are dues by the default interest.
22,253 of the 25,051 families involved have abided by the terms of the act of agreement and have regularly paid every month, along with the monthly bill of electricity, the instalment of one thousand ALL.
In addition to thanking cordially these 22,253 families and publicly commending their worthy example in respecting the law, and taking also into account the fact that thanks to the popular support it has received the reform in energy is yielding very good results, it has been decided to eventually remove the burden of default interest for these customers who have behaved in an exemplary way although in special economic difficulties. They are required to pay only 10 new ALL (100 old ALL), and the obligation of the default interest will be removed from the system.
The financial effect of this encouraging measure for the positive example, but also a mitigating measure for the economy of these families is 3.705 billion ALL, or approximately 37 million dollars.
The average estimated value to be benefited by every person in need is 166,528 ALL or 1,665 dollars.
The condition to benefit this drastic reduction and in fact, this symbolic payment of the default interest is to go to the OSHEE counters and update the information of the contract for power supply, pay 10 new ALL (100 old ALL) in order to delete the default interest, and therefore change the current contract for the normal continuation of the payment of arrears in equal instalments of 1 thousand ALL per month, as they have been doing so far.
The deadline to benefit this mitigating measure is January 31st of next year.
While the 2,798 customers of this category who have entered a mitigating agreement but have not respected its terms, by not paying on time the bill for the monthly consumption of electricity, or the instalment of 1 thousand ALL for arrears, will be given an option until June 30 of next year to follow the example of today’s beneficiaries. This means that if these families pay regularly until 30 June 2016 the monthly bill for the energy consumption, as well as the instalment of 1.000 ALL for the principal arrears, they will benefit the payment of default interest for only 10 ALL in July.
Social services estimate that approximately 7 thousand people, who enjoy the status of economic aid beneficiary have not entered yet the mitigating act of agreement – either that did not make it in time or did not want to – in order to settle the arrears. OSHEE will give them another opportunity to enter into a new agreement, certainly not with the same monthly instalment, for they cannot benefit the same as those who entered it since the beginning, but with a monthly instalment of 1,200 ALL (12 thousand old) to pay off arrears.
All those who abide by the new agreement, as today’s beneficiaries did, will be given by the end of next year the possibility of deleting the default interest with a single payment of 20 new ALL (200 old ALL) and not 10 new ALL (or 100 old ALL).
Secondly, based on the information in our possession, according to the portfolio analysis concerning the category of small business, it turns out that approximately 4097 businesses are liable only for penalty interest; therefore, they have already paid the total amount of arrears for electricity bills, and have regularly paid the current monthly bill.
For this category, namely, for these 4097 small business entities that have paid all arrears, penalty interest will be entirely reduced to only 100 new ALL (1000 old ALL). That means that by paying 1 thousand old ALL, the entire amount of penalty interest is deleted. These 4097 businesses will thus directly benefit $ 2.9 million, and the average amount of benefits estimated for each subject is 700,945 old ALL.
The condition for the benefit this is to submit to the OSHEE counters the document from the Directorate General of Taxation showing that the subject has the status of small business, and update the information of the contract for power supply. Upon paying the 100 new ALL amount, each of those subjects becomes a regular, normal payer, like everyone else, without any arrears.
Another 2314 businesses having arrears of less than 5 thousand (50 thousand old) ALL, and whose penalty interest amounts to more than 5 thousand (50 thousand old) ALL, will benefit from the reduction of penalty interest to only 1 thousand new ALL. So, by paying just one thousand new ALL they will pay off the entire penalty interest. It has a financial impact of 1 million 150 dollars, and the average value of the benefit estimated for each of these entities is 497 thousand ALL.
The condition is the same, submit to the OSHEE counters the document from the Directorate General of Taxation showing that the subject has the status of small business, and update the information of the contract against payment of 1 thousand new ALL, to delete the penalty interest.
This is the success story of this reform which, as in any reform has had and has costs and has caused pain, but both the costs and the pain are not the aim, rather the result of an operation aimed at healing a body degraded and often taken hostage by the cancer of misrule and mismanagement, and make it a vital body for the direct benefit of the citizens.
These are today’s beneficiaries.
There will be others.
Thank you!
