Greek Energy Minister Skylakakis Announces Subsidies to Mitigate Electricity Prices

While Greek households are plagued with soaring electricity prices, the Minister of Environment and Energy Theodoros Skylakakis announced potential interventions with aim to support both households and businesses. The government’s efforts come at a time when the looming threat of Russian natural gas supply cuts hangs over Europe, raising concerns about energy security and rising costs.

Skylakakis, is anticipated to announce subsidies for residential electricity tariffs in the forthcoming days regarding bills in January, while at the beginning of next month a support scheme for business electricity bills is set to be implemented

Regarding the subsidy for electricity bills in January the minister pointed out that the providers have shown great restraint in their pricing, adding that the government also has a stable policy on electricity. “When prices exceed a certain threshold, we intervene,” said Skylakakis stressing that potential interventions will be announced the following days when referring to residential electricity tariffs.

As for subsidies for business electricity bills he said, “We will wait to see the prices for February, and then we will decide.” As Skylakakis noted, businesses will receive a one-time subsidy, which will cover the months of December and January, and, if deemed necessary, it will also extend February.

Regarding potential impacts from the suspension of Russian natural gas imports, the minister appeared reassuring with relation to the prices of Russian gas.

Skylakakis specifically iterated that he does not foresee further deterioration in prices provided that the country doesn’t experience severe weather conditions or an unexpected event occurs that cannot be predicted at present.

He noted that Europe is prepared in terms of gas supply. Regarding the impact on Greece, he clarified: “In Greece, we are covered because we also import LNG. For us, LNG is cheaper compared to Russian gas.”

Source: tovima.com