Serbian households could face higher electricity bills later this year as the government considers changes to the current tariff system as part of ongoing discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
According to the IMF, electricity prices should gradually align more closely with the actual costs of production and distribution. In line with these recommendations, the government is expected to prepare a proposal for revising the existing block tariff system by the end of August.
Analysts expect that the planned changes may include adjustments to consumption thresholds that determine whether households fall into the green, blue, or red tariff zones. If implemented, this could result in some consumers moving into higher-priced categories at lower levels of electricity consumption than under the current system.
Economist Bogdan Petrović stated that household electricity prices are likely to increase at least in line with inflation by the end of the year. He also warned that households with higher electricity usage could face additional cost increases if the tariff structure is revised.
Energy expert Dragan Vlajisavljević noted that one of the options under consideration is reducing the upper limit of the lowest-priced tariff band. In that scenario, households would enter more expensive tariff zones more quickly, even without a significant change in the base electricity price.
Large industrial consumers are not expected to be affected by the potential changes, as they already purchase electricity at market-based prices. Any revisions would therefore primarily impact households and small businesses. If approved, the new tariff structure could be announced in September and could come into effect as early as October.
