Orban said the government would take over the cost of turning up the heat during the unusually cold weather. He added that those costs presented "an unexpected and significant burden" to households.

He said the extreme weather conditions in January had "put Hungary to the test", but the country had "beat the snow" a week earlier.

Cold snap - Orban: Utility cuts scheme to be 'cranked up'

"We need to crank up the regulated utilities price scheme and we will," Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Facebook, adding that "it will be the most important task for Wednesday's cabinet meeting."

"We have not had a January as cold as now for decades; this makes us realise the value of the regulated utilities price scheme and appreciate that in today's crazy world we still have access to cheap Russian oil and gas," the prime minister said.

Gulyas: January utility bills freeze to shield Hungarian households

The government has set up a working group, headed by Energy Minister Csaba Lantos, to work out the details of a planned measure to compensate households for higher-than-usual utilities bills amid the extreme cold, Gergely Gulyas, the head of the Prime Minister's Office, said at a weekly press briefing.

As temperatures dropped to lows not seen in 15 years, Gulyas said the government has decided that Hungarian families should not have to pay for the consequences of the extreme weather.

He added that the government would approve the details of the plan to compensate households for higher than usual January heating bills at the cabinet meeting next Wednesday, at the latest.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced late on Wednesday that the government would take over the cost of turning up the heat during the unusually cold weather.

Gulyas thanked the police, soldiers, disaster management and other staff for their "superhuman" efforts during the recent "snow situation".

MTI Stock Photo - for illustrative purposes only

Source: MTI – Hungary’s national news agency since 1881. While MTI articles are usually factual, some may contain political bias, and readers should be aware that such content does not reflect the position of XpatLoop, which is neutral and independent.

Since the goal of XpatLoop is to keep readers well briefed, right across the spectrum of opinions, MTI items are shared to ensure readers are aware of all narratives within the local media.

XpatLoop believes in empowering readers to form their own views through complete and comprehensive coverage. To facilitate this XpatLoop has a balanced range of news partners, as you can see when you surf around XpatLoop.com

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