Belgium, (Brussels Morning Newspaper) Greece announced plans on Wednesday to increase power bill subsidies for companies and households.
Kostas Skrekas, Minister of the Environment and Energy, noted that the government will provide citizens and businesses with additional 1.1 billion euro next month, according to Reuters reporting on Wednesday.
He noted that the move will cushion the blow of rising energy prices as the winter approaches, stressing that price of natural gas continues to soar.
Greece allocated more than 9 billion euro for energy subsidies since September last year to help businesses and households pay their utility bills.
“The government will continue to implement policies that shield consumers from the extremely adverse impact of the energy war Russia has waged on Europe,” Skrekas stated in an address as he announced the latest relief plan.
Winter is coming
“All of us together will fight the battle during the coming winter months, to face the challenges of the energy war unfolding across Europe,” he added.
Skrekas announced a three-tier subsidy system for electricity bills worth a total of 1.1 billion euro. The first tier will be for households with monthly consumption of up to 500 kWh, with subsidy of 436 euro per MWh which will absorb roughly 90% of price increase.
For the second and third tier, the subsidy will absorb between 70% and 80% of the increase. These tiers will be for those who consume from 501 to 1,001 kWh per month and over 1,001 kWh per month, respectively.
Businesses that consume more than 2,000 kWh per month will receive subsidy of 398 euro per MWh and farmers will receive 436 euro per MWh.
Skrekas added that the government will provide an additional 50 euro per MWh to consumers who lower their average consumption by 15% on the annual level.
Greece previously introduced a payment cap for producers of electricity and diverted the proceeds towards financing of subsidies for energy bills.The Greek National Natural Gas System Operator (DESFA) announced plans to provide a subsidy of 90 euro per MWh for households next month, stressing that the move should absorb approximately 50% of the price increase.
