Slovenian households will benefit from lower energy prices this winter season after the government decided to extend the regulation of electricity and natural gas prices, which would have expired at the end of the year.

Absent regulation, electricity prices would have risen by almost a third in January, or by €20 for the average household, since current prices are still much higher than they were before the energy crisis, according to Minister of the Environment, Climate and Energy Bojan Kumer.

But while the electricity price cap will be in place for the entire 2024, it will apply to only 90% of a household's consumption. The aim is to promote energy saving, the minister said.

As a result, the average household bill is expected to be in fact slightly more expensive, amounting to nearly €73.

The extension, which also applies to common areas in apartment buildings, is expected to have two positive effects - the state will help relieve the pressure of higher electricity prices on households while the measure itself will also help reduce inflation.

The gas price cap will remain in place during the heating season, from 1 January to 30 April next year.

Due to the changed situation in the Middle East and other geopolitical tensions worldwide the gas market is forecast to experience volatility, and so the government would like to implement preventive measures during the heating season.

The new capped price will be somewhat lower than the existing price, since the market prices are lower than those last year.

Until the end of the year, the price for households is capped at €73 per Mwh, whereas in the first four months of 2024 it will be capped at just under €60.

Other groups that have been entitled to price regulation this year - public institutions and small business consumers - will no longer benefit from this measure in 2024.