Ceiling of 5 euros on monthly fixed electricity charges

LAST UPDATE: 21.50

The Minister of Environment and Energy submitted the provision that stipulates that the amount of fixed charges on electricity bills imposed per customer category, regardless of the volume of consumption, cannot exceed the amount of 5 euros per month. The provision was submitted in the form of legal technical improvement in article 138 par.5 of Law 4951/2022.

Earlier, Mr. Skrekas had announced from the floor of the Parliament the legislative intervention on the ceiling.

“We determined that the suppliers must declare the net price of electricity. We finally saw that some suppliers, while they specified a net price, over-multiplied the fixed charges. The fixed charges. That’s why today, we bring an amendment and impose on the suppliers, upper ceiling at 5 euros, for fixed charges. The monthly charge, the upper ceiling they can have is 5 euros. So we limit from 15 and from 20 euros – some others had higher fixed charges proportional to consumption which this is not correct – and thus by putting a ceiling we limit them”, said Mr. Skrekas and informed the Plenary that the legislative intervention is being filed today.

The Minister of Environment and Energy said that the Greek government, faced with the imported energy crisis, took measures.

“We put it into operation by putting a cap on the compensation prices of power plants and the difference, from the cap it put per power plant technology to the wholesale price of electricity, recovers it, takes it to the Energy Transition Fund and returns it to the electricity bills of consumers, through the subsidies that we announce every month and that the state budget also participates in,” said Mr. Skrekas and referred to the results of this mechanism. “In the first 15 days of its operation, this mechanism yielded more than 330 million euros. By the end of July we estimate that it may even exceed 500 million euros … We estimate that in the coming months, it will yield even more,” said the minister of Environment and Energy and added that the government presented this mechanism to the Council of Energy Ministers a few days ago and proposed changing the European model for determining the price of electricity, from the one currently in force, and replacing it with a model that decouples the price of natural gas from the price of electricity, in a way that lowers the wholesale price of electricity and therefore the price of electricity to households and businesses. Mr. Skrekas said that this proposal was supported by many countries as well as the need to start a debate in Europe, for a possible change of this model which “unfortunately, links electricity prices with natural gas”.

“Greece did this, first of all European countries, and now the European countries are coming, after Greece, to agree or express their concerns, and this discussion is finally being opened, to protect households and businesses,” said the Minister of the Environment who pointed out that the government also made another big change. “We suspended for one year, that is, for as long as this mechanism lasts,” said Mr. Skrekas, noting that the providers announced a low price list price per unit of electricity and then, there was a mathematical formula, which “today’s government inherited from the SYRIZA government, which had been implemented by private providers who had an adjustment clause in their tariffs”.

“We suspended the readjustment clause and obliged all suppliers to define for each first of the following month what is the net electricity sales price, so that the citizens know. Ultimately the prices announced by the suppliers had differences of up to 40% and now the citizens can decide which supplier is the most competitive and choose. We did what the SYRIZA government had not done. We allow the consumer to change provider for free,” said Mr. Skrekas who stood in particular at PPC. “In the end, PPC, which you blame, is the one that sells expensive electricity? Now that we have seen the net prices? After all, does PPC sell expensive electricity in August? You must tell us, gentlemen of the opposition, when you take the stage. PPC always tries to support households and businesses, but always within the context of competition,” said Mr. Skrekas.

The chapter of the environmental bill on uses in Natura areas is under consultation again

Meanwhile, the Minister of Environment and Energy withdrew the third chapter of the environmental bill on uses in Natura areas to be put back into consultation.

Mr. Skrekas expressed the intention to put the specific part of the bill back into a new consultation, in order to achieve the greatest possible consensus.

He pointed out that the government is listening to the constructive comments and pledged to restore the provisions on the Natura areas after a month, when the Parliament will resume its work and a new consultation will take place.