UMS: Towns to Reduce Expenditures by Joint Procurement of Electricity and Gas

Bratislava, October 11 (TASR) - Towns will reduce their expenditures next year by jointly procuring electricity and gas, helping many of them save money and better manage their budgets, representatives of the Slovak Towns Union (UMS) pointed out at a press conference on Friday. UMS added that this is one of the solutions in the wake of the consolidation approved by the government, which will restrict local authorities the most and force them to cut spending or cancel public services. "We're looking for a way to help consolidate public money because we're very well aware that state finances are really in a dire situation and in our view need perhaps much stronger consolidation. We've decided to look for solutions, and we've found one - we've conducted joint central procurement within UMS for purchasing gas and the purchase of energy," said UMS head Richard Rybnicek. The UMS leader added that approximately 14 towns have joined the joint procurement, and through this initiative they'll be able to reduce their expenditures on gas and energy purchases next year. Other representatives of UMS member towns from Stupava, Pezinok (Bratislava region) and Dubnica nad Vahom (Trencin region) also see this as a positive benefit for the future and agreed that joint public procurement will help towns to save money. am/df