Hungary's government to cover increase in household heating bills for January, Orban says

BUDAPEST, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Hungary's government is going to pay the extra cost facing households in their heating bills for January, which stems from their increased fuel consumption due to freezing temperatures, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Tuesday.

"The government has decided to introduce a January utility bill cap. This means the government will cover the costs of the excess consumption for families for heating in January," Orban said in a video on Facebook, ahead of an April 12 election.

It was not immediately clear how the measure would affect the existing state subsidy scheme that has been in effect for households' gas and electricity consumption.