The Ministry of Energy, according to Kostas Skreka, is promoting a draft joint ministerial decision to include rural electricity consumers in the discounts it has announced.
Specifically, as Kostas Skrekas stated in his written response to Parliament on November 11, 2021, «Paragraph 1 of Article 61 of Law 4839/2021 (Government Gazette A’ 181/2021) stipulates that «1. A special account shall be established under the name «Energy Transition Fund» and D.A.P.E.E.P. S.A. is designated as the administrator of the special account. Furthermore, paragraph 3 of the above article stipulates that: »A subsidy for billable electricity consumption is provided from the special account referred to in paragraph 1 and is credited to the accounts of beneficiaries as a discount from electricity suppliers. The beneficiaries of the above subsidy are low-voltage consumers. By joint decision of the Ministers of Environment and Energy and Finance, eligible consumers are determined., taking into account economic and social criteria, the amount of the subsidy in euros per megawatt hour (MWh), the procedure, method, and timing of its granting, the settlement period, the consumption period, maximum and minimum consumption limits, and any other matter relating to the granting of the subsidy. Pursuant to the above provision, the Ministry of Environment and Energy is promoting a draft joint decision by the Ministers of Environment and Energy and Finance, whereby consumers with low-voltage agricultural supplies will be eligible for the above subsidy.
The measures recently announced by the government
For domestic electricity consumers and businesses supplied by the low-voltage grid, the subsidy increases for November and December to €39 per month, from €9 in September and €18 in October, with a consumption limit of 300 kilowatt hours per month. For beneficiaries of the Social Household Tariff, the subsidy will be €45 per month, starting on October 24.
For those natural gas consumers, beyond the increase in the heating allowance (to €170 million from €80 million) and the 15% discount on domestic consumption from DEPA Emporia, Network usage fees will be suspended for the months of November and December. For a household consuming 2 megawatt hours per month, the reduction will be €20-40 per month. The fees will be imposed from 2022, when natural gas prices will have fallen.
For businesses (low and medium voltage industry, other medium voltage uses), public utility charges are suspended for 5 months (from November to March 2022). This will facilitate business liquidity with an amount of €63 million. The fees will be paid when electricity prices on the Stock Exchange have fallen and after an assessment of the needs of the YKO account (which are limited as the interconnections between the islands progress).
The ministry's response to the Parliamentary Control Media follows.
