Authorities pledge to curb power price hikes

Prime Minister Petr Nečas said on Thursday his government would come up with measures to curb electricity price hikes caused by generous state support for solar power. As of January 2011, electricity prices are expected to increase by around 12 percent for households and 17 percent for companies. Mr Nečas said that concrete steps should be announced next week. For his part, the head of the country’s energy regulatory authority, Jopsef Fiřt, said on Thursday a new bill would introduce a price cap for energy from renewable sources; however, this would only apply to energy sources connected to the grid after the bill is passed.