Immediate results for consumers with the least possible side effects in the market and relations with the European Commission is the formula that the Ministry of Environment and Energy is pursuing with the intervention in early December aimed at protecting consumers from excessive increases in electricity next month.

Sources of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported yesterday after the meeting with representatives of the European Commission on the type of interventions that will be implemented that the EU understands the Greek arguments. As he also understands that Greece cannot wait for the permanent changes in the functioning of the electricity market that the Commission is studying but must act immediately to protect consumers. Something for which he is committed not only Minister of Environment and Energy Thodoros Skylakakis and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

They themselves estimate that the funds to finance the intervention will be budgetary in nature and not regulatory measures as, as they say, imposing a ceiling on the sale prices of energy on the Exchange requires changes in European legislation that do not seem possible at the moment.

As for the amount of intervention, this will depend on the tariffs announced by suppliers for December and whether they absorb the wholesale increases.

So far the average November price on the Greek Energy Exchange is 139.99 euros per megawatt hourfrom 90.06 euros in October, i.e. 55% higher.

The basis of the arguments with which the government approaches the negotiation with the European Commission is based on the fact that Greece is not only not responsible for the high energy prices in SE Europe but on the contrary supports the systems of the neighboring countries with exports. However, it suffers the negative effects of high prices.

In particular, they are emphasized in negotiation three points:

– Firstlythat the production potential of Greece exceeds the domestic needs, so it does not increase the demand from the neighboring countries. On the contrary, the Greek system has been strongly exporting in recent days, meeting the needs of the region.

– Secondlythat a large part of the potential (natural gas units, hydroelectric, later batteries) is flexible, i.e. it supports the operation of energy systems in today’s conditions of high penetration of renewable sources.

– Third that our country has a high potential for interconnections with neighboring countries. In contrast to Central European countries where interconnections are weak and this is the main reason for the division of the European electricity market with high prices in the Balkans and low prices in the North and West.