The Ministry of Environment and Energy intends to launch a consumer awareness campaign, calling for energy savings. Thoughts are in place in the first instance to make recommendations to cut consumption on a voluntary basis for homes and businesses. However, if things get even more difficult due to a complete disruption of Russian gas supplies and the difficulty of finding LNG, then there is the wide open possibility of making rotational electrification compulsory.
Reports also indicate that a scenario for an increased heating oil allowance is under consideration. In fact, an increased budget of about 20% compared to last year is planned, but an expanded number of beneficiaries with increased income criteria up to 45,000 euros depending on the number of family members.
Heating oil will start to be available from 1.65 euros per liter, as stated on Saturday (03/09), Nikos Papageorgiou, president of Attica's petrol stations.
Specifically, speaking to MEGA, he said:
«The starting price for the sale of heating oil will be around €1.65 per litre. [...] The Ministry has committed itself that it will indeed move to more generous subsidies. We are waiting to see, as one subsidy is not enough, we saw this with the Fuel Pass».
Also, Nikos Papageorgiou added that, at the moment, the price of liquid fuels is for unleaded is over 2 euros per liter and for diesel slightly above 1.90 euros per liter. However, the president of the Attica service stations stressed that next week there is the prospect that the price of liquid fuels will be reduced, i.e. from Monday (05/09) the service stations with the new deliveries will «drop» the prices due to the imposition of a cap.
Finally, he noted:
«We are experiencing the biggest energy crisis in 30 years. The question is how to keep businesses going. We predict from statistics coming from both the GESBE and the Chambers that 30% of businesses, whether small or large, cannot afford the costs.».
The proposals under consideration:
- The premium for reduced energy consumption in homes and businesses, resulting from a comparison with last year's consumption
- Financial support for the most vulnerable
- Encourage the replacement of heating with gas from other energy sources (e.g. modern air conditioners), perhaps accompanied by funding of part of the replacement costs, etc.
At the same time, in a recent meeting with industrialists, Energy Minister Kostas Skrekas asked energy-intensive groups to reduce part of their production in order to reduce energy consumption. A development that will obviously lead to an increase in the prices of the goods produced.
