Industry at odds with gov’t

Energy-intensive industrial enterprises are now considering the threat of the suspension of ETMEAR payments (the fee in favor of RES) as a last resort to pressure the government to disburse a total amount of more than 400 million euros that should have started to reach their coffers gradually from 2021 to 2024.

These are approved amounts under the European State Aid Directive to support the competitiveness of energy-intensive industrial enterprises, with industry representatives recommending a halt to ETMEAR payments, which will be decided in September.

The patience of the domestic energy industry, after a series
of letters and fruitless contacts with the relevant government agencies, seems to be running out after the suffocating pressures on operating costs exerted by the new high fluctuations in electricity prices.

Industry representatives tell Kathimerini that the most acute problem is for the competitiveness of Greek businesses as new measures have been taken by other European governments to support their industries.

Europe’s traditionally expensive markets include Greece, as well as the interconnected market of Bulgaria, which reacted immediately to July’s high wholesale prices by including businesses in the compensation mechanism. Bulgaria’s cabinet decided last week to extend the ceiling on energy production depending on its technology until the end of 2024. 

In Greece, the subsidies announced by the government for August’s consumption are only for household tariffs, which means that energy-intensive industries will pay the very high prices of the wholesale market, further widening the competitiveness deficit with their competitors, not only on the international market but also in Europe’s.

Representatives of energy-intensive industries speak of economic suffocation conditions and warn of a “hot” fall in terms of their reactions, highlighting the issues that are significantly burdening their energy costs.