The elaboration of the bill of the Ministry of Environment and Energy, entitled, “Regulations for the modernization of waste management, the improvement of the energy saving framework, the development of energy projects and the treatment of urban planning issues”, which voted by majority.

The ND was in favor of his principle, while PASOK, together with KKE and New Left, voted against and SYRIZA, with EL.LY, NIKI, Pleussi Eleftherias and Spartiates, reserved themselves in the discussion and voting in the Plenary of the Parliament, which will be held the next one Thursday, October 31.

Closing the debate and responding to the opposition’s criticism, which questioned the effectiveness of the bill’s goals and spoke of a lack of energy democracy, the Minister of Environment and Energy, Theodoros Skylakakis, countered that “real energy democracy exists when we achieve low prices”.

“We are not interested in business people. We are interested in consumers and how to ensure low prices electricity to providers.

We adopt cycles, in general, in green growth. We are going with wisdom to alleviate the problems that exist in the energy market and to ensure low prices“, emphasized Mr. Skylakakis and added:

“The biggest change with the bill is that we are saying to investors, come without subsidies. Stock up, put batteries in. This is how electricity prices will fall».

Mr. Skylakakis emphasized the amendment that will be tabled next Thursday, which will regulate the issue of remote heating in Western Macedonia, stressing that “no party has brought any real alternative proposal and there is no alternative to natural gas until now”.

“Or the district heating would have to stop and they would freeze 45,000 households and let everyone find their own solution, or let’s make this solution that we will bring by improving the agreement. We will submit the relevant amendment and I call on all parties to support it, because it will be beneficial and will ensure very low prices for households that are in an area with great difficulties due to de-lignification“, said the Minister of Environment and Energy.

The general rapporteur of SYRIZA, Miltiadis Zambaras, called the government’s accusation that it does not care about the opposition parties, the need and usefulness of green energy and the country’s energy dependence on fossil fuels, “false and deliberately misleading”.

At the same time, he argued that, “there is no comprehensive plan for RES, instead a draft law is coming with no control over the super profits of large companies”.

“You play with the viability of small projects. All you care about is sharing energy space with big businesses. We emphasize the necessity of the energy communities, where we have the smallest percentage in the EU and which are treated by you with disdain. You proceed with fast-track processes, you do not face the big problem of storage and you favor the big producers. Your central planning is in the logic of photo layouts, patches and redistribution of energy space that does not exist, without having done any real consultation with the agencies“, said Mr. Zambaras.

The general rapporteur of PASOK, Frangiskos Parasiris, spoke “for scattered, vague and without a single coherence, articles of the bill, which run through the perception of over-centralization».

“In relation to the Local Self-Government, it is deprived, it is stripped of important powers and responsibilities that it had. We have serious reservations about the aims and effectiveness of the plan. A change of priorities is needed. The priority now is to bring forward Renewable Energy projects that have built-in battery storage“, Mr. Parasiris noted, among other things.

Against the bill, which as he said, “it has the sole purpose of satisfying the specific interests of large energy groups and pitting itself against small businesses“said the special buyer of the KKE, Aphrodite Ktena.

He also argued that, “no right to work is guaranteed, while the 900 million euros that will be given until 2027, for the management of the waste program, will be shared for the needs of the groups and not for the deforested services of the regions”.

The specialist buyer of Hellenic Solution, Konstantinos Boubas, argued that “in the coming years the providers will pay very dearly for the cost of electricity, because from the moment large private entrepreneurs undertake the projects, they will try to amortize the cost of their investment”.

The strong opposition of her party to the bill was expressed by the special buyer of the New Left, Theopisti Perka, stressing that “the competence of waste management is removed from the Local Self-Government and this clearly violates the constitution”.

“Small energy producers will experience painful consequences and only the vertically integrated, with super profits, will benefit. The absence of energy communities and storage are two problems that will have a painful impact on consumers“, Ms. Perka claimed.

The specialist buyer of NIKI, Komninos Delveroudis, argued that “there is overproduction and over-licensing of RES”, he estimated that “small and medium-sized businesses will experience the most painful consequences” and emphasized “the need for immediate measures to store and consume electricity and support small businesses” .

The specialist buyer of Plefsis Eleftherias, Alexandros Kazamias, underlined that “the bill is not a deep reform as the country needs, but is full of piecemeal provisions».

“The green transition is tentatively attempted by the government. A clear, comprehensive plan is absent. The lion’s share is taken by large companies, while the small energy communities should be strengthened in order to lower electricity prices, which in our country are very expensive“, emphasized Mr. Kazamias.

The specialist buyer of the Spartans, Ioannis Kontis, focused on the criticism that had been made by the competent extra-parliamentary bodies that were called to the committee, emphasizing that “all the municipal authorities are reacting to the bill by asking to be given the possibility to have the responsibility for the management of the waste and recycling”.

For his part, the general rapporteur of the ND, Makarios Lazaridis, characterized the bill, “major reform that answers both current and future challenges, for a more sustainable green Greece, with strong waste management agencies and with the creation and strengthening of different AP technologyEh”.