Heating subsidy on the way
The supply of oil for this winter begins at a rate well below estimates at the start of the month
In the next few days the government is set to announce a subsidy for consumers who will use electricity and natural gas for their heating this year. This will have the same criteria as the heating oil subsidy and be of a similar amount.
The extension of the heating allowance to both electricity and natural gas users was deemed necessary for this winter, as at the end of the year the horizontal subsidies on electricity tariffs and the discounts offered last year by Public Gas Corporation (DEPA) to natural gas consumers are to be abolished, so that consumers with low and medium incomes, especially in areas where the winter is more severe, will be burdened significantly.
Environment and Energy Minister Thodoros Skylakakis describes them as “vulnerable energy consumers,” in the sense that they allocate a larger part of their income to heating.
Meanwhile on Friday heating oil makes its premiere for the season at a price much lower than the 1.50 euros per liter that the data had pointed to at the beginning of the month, namely at the price of €1.35-1.40/liter, according to the estimates of purchase.
At these levels, the price is up to 6 cents per liter lower than last year’s starting price of €1.41/liter, which however came after a double subsidy. There had been a subsidy of 20 cents per liter (plus VAT) on the pump price from the budget and an additional subsidy of 7.5 cents per liter from the country’s two refineries.
For this year, EKO has announced a 5% discount for its customers for the period from October 13 to November 17, 2023. Its subsidiary Helleniq Energy is also offering its customers for the same period the option of paying in 12 interest-free installments with credit cards of Greek banks. However, it is most likely that EKO’s move will also be followed by the Motor Oil marketing branch for reasons of competition, as was the case last year.
True, the crisis in the Middle East has sparked fresh uncertainty in the international energy market, with no on able to predict its extent and the impact on prices.
