Energy minister announces Nov. subsidy rates for electricity bills

Environment and Energy Minister Kostas Skrekas on Thursday announced the size of the state subsidy for electricity bills in November, saying it would be set at 0.238 euros per KWh for a monthly consumption of up to 500 KWh.

According to the minister, this covers roughly 90% of households, with the government absorbing the greater part of the cost increase and keeping retail prices at affordable levels.

At this rate of subsidy, the average customer of the Public Power Corporation (PPC), for example, will pay 0.159 euros per KWh. The size of the subsidy will then decline as monthly consumption levels increase while it will apply to all domestic electricity connections without income criteria.

The total cost of the subsidies will be 430 million euros, of which 270 million will subsidize households. Skrekas said that the greater part of this amount is financed via the mechanism for recovering the windfall profits of power producers, which came into force in July and has so far generated revenues exceeding 2.3 billion euros. He noted that this mechanism has also been adopted in Europe by other EU member-states, while there is also majority support among member-states for two Greek proposals to tackle the energy crisis – common purchases of natural gas and imposing a cap on natural gas prices.

For monthly consumption levels between 501-1,000 KWh, the subsidy is set at 0.188 euros per KWh and for consumption levels above 1,001 KWh (about 2% of households) it is 0.098 euros.

The additional subsidy of 0.05 euros per KWh for those that reduce consumption by 15% remains, as an incentive for energy savings, while the increase in price is fully subsidized for those qualifying for the Social Residential Tariff.

For businesses and farmers, subsidies will range from 0.20 euros per KWh to 50 euros per MWh.

Subsidies will also be paid for the roughly 700,000 households using natural gas in November, at a flat rate of 25 euros per thermal MWh.

“In spite of the difficulties and the unprecedented crisis, the government continues to stand by the side of households and businesses so that no one is unprotected this winter,” Skrekas said. [AMNA]