No increase in electricity and gas pricing, Energy Minister says

Government is committed to supporting the price of electricity and gas, Energy and Mines Minister, Youcef Yousfi, said before the Finance and Budget Committee at the People’s National Council.

Youcef Yousfi added that the sector’s budget will rise to 5.67 billion ZDZ under the Finance Act 2014, compared to 5.57 billion ZDZ for last year.

The Minister explained, during his presentation before the members of the Finance Committee of the Lower Chamber in Parliament, in the context of the Committee’s examination of the budgets of the sector under the chairmanship of Khalil Mahi, that 41 billion dinars will be directed to the budget of management and 5.26 billion dinars for the budget of processing, according to the statement of the Council.

“Government will continue to support the program of electricity and gas, especially in the southern states. This program will cover 56% of the national territory by the end of 2013, reaching up to 99% in 2016. Oil prices have noticed stability during the past three years, with a record of a decline last year. Important exploration of oil and gas occurred in recent months”. 

“It is important to intensify efforts in the research and exploration of mines. A draft law amending and supplementing the Law on Mines will be submitted in order to include new motivational conditions for mining research, as it is well known that the field of exploration in Algeria is no longer tempting a lot of foreign companies, especially after the adoption of new rules that control the partnership between Sonatrach and its foreign partners”.

During the meeting, the Finance Budget Committee asked the Minister to provide more clarification, relating to certain articles that are contained in the draft finance law for 2014, such as Article 32 relating to exempting the production of urea type of fertilizer from the tax on companies’ profits, and it comes also to Article 34 of expropriation for the public benefit, in the context of the electricity projects’ completion, gas and water, as well as Article 70 on the importation of cars use the natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas.