Ljubljana, April 14 : The government of Slovenia has extended price caps on electricity and natural gas for citizens as well as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) until the end of this year in a bid to ease the burden of the global energy crisis on the economy and the population. The price caps were introduced last year. They were to remain in force until June 30 this year for SMEs and August 31 for households, small businesses and other protected users, Xinhua news agency reported. For households, the maximum price of electricity is currently 118 euros ($130) per megawatt-hour (MWh) and that of natural gas is 73 euros per MWh. The maximum price of electricity for SMEs is 217 euros per MWh. "The government is helping households cope with high energy prices and is enabling stable financing and a predictable business environment till the end of 2023 for ... SMEs," Minister of Environment, Climate and Energy Bojan Kumer told reporters after a regular government session. The government expects the price caps to also help reduce annual inflation, which has almost doubled over the past year, reaching 10.5 per cent in March, up from 5.4 per cent in March 2022. (1 euro 1.10 US dollar) /IANS