Costas Skrekas spoke to SKAI about the possibility of new increases in energy subsidies and an automatic subsidy mechanism for accounts from the new year.
“The government is assessing the effects of the crisis on consumers on a monthly basis, we are the only country doing this, it has announced a series of measures by the end of the year, we are evaluating them every month, and we will proceed with a new subsidy increase if needed,” he said. Minister for the Environment and Energy.
“From the new year we will see how international energy prices will fluctuate, if necessary we will continue to support,” he added.
Mr. Skrekas stated that a permanent mechanism is being examined, an algorithm, which, depending on the price of energy, will automatically subsidize household bills.
“The price of gas in the markets has quadrupled, almost fivefold, compared to the previous year. We had announced with the Minister of Finance and the Deputy Minister of Finance the increase of the heating allowance from 80 million euros to 170 million euros and since last year the beneficiaries are also the consumers of gas. “Apart from that, we have announced that we will have a horizontal discount of at least 15% on all household gas consumers,” said Mr. Skrekas.
Regarding energy costs, the minister explained that gas prices have risen dramatically and lignite was not enough in previous years to meet electricity needs, while there is a carbon tax on greenhouse gases imposed by the EU. “So it is 4 and 5 times more expensive to produce energy from natural gas and lignite compared to the production from sun and wind,” he pointed out.
The Minister of Energy earlier announced the subsidy for the first 300 kilowatt hours for November and December, at 39 euros per month for all households, from 18 euros in October. The subsidy for the first 300 kilowatt hours amounts to 45 euros per month for the social tariff.
For natural gas, in addition to the 80 to 170 million euros discount, along with 15% of the horizontal discount for all, the charging of network fees for each household is suspended, which means a reduction in bills from 20 to 40 euros. At the same time, the energy fund is being strengthened from 150m euros to 600m euros, while the payment of utility bills is suspended from November to March.
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