Electricity: Announcing support measures for December

The Ministry of Environment and Energy announced measures to support electricity bills for the month of December.

In particular, next month, electricity subsidies in household tariffs and for all main and non-main residence services, without income criteria and regardless of the service provider, will be structured as follows:

• For monthly consumption up to 500 kWh, the subsidy remains the same as the previous month and amounts to €25/MWh. This category occupies 90% of families in Greece.
• Those with monthly consumption exceeding 500 kilowatt-hours will receive the same support, provided that their average daily energy consumption is reduced by 15%, compared to last year.
• For households included in the social household tariff (COT), the assistance amounts to €60/MWh for total consumption and absorbs 100% of the increased cost.
• In addition, for farmers, regardless of the level of supply capacity and voltage, the assistance remains the same as in the previous month and amounts to 25 EUR/MWh, for the entire monthly consumption.

In December, the value of electricity subsidies to families and farmers exceeded a total of 34.7 million euros.

Colored bills…

Meanwhile, by December 1, 2023 at the latest, electricity suppliers must send information leaflets to consumers about the new tariffs that will apply from January 1, 2024.

It is expected that the majority of consumers will be switched to the so-called “green” tariff, where only those with a fixed electricity tariff are excluded.

According to the KYA, those who do not have an electricity supply contract with their provider and have not chosen a different tariff by 31 December 2023 will automatically switch to the shared ‘green’ tariff on 1 January 2024.

“Green” tariffs will be more expensive than floating “yellow” tariffs

According to informed sources, companies have begun contacting customers and the news is not particularly good as they are being told that the “green” tariffs will be more expensive than the floating “yellow” tariffs, which are subject to a retrospective charge (ex post) that varies depending on the fluctuations of the wholesale electricity market. The most accurate, as might be expected, would be fixed fee rate invoices (“blue” invoices).

Best of all are “orange” tariffs with the possibility of dynamic pricing based on market prices, but they can only be chosen by those who have a smart meter installed in the consumer supply.

We remind you that the Minister of Environment and Energy, Theodoros Skylakakis, the only time he held a press conference at the beginning of November, did not claim that “green” tariffs would be cheaper and avoided talking about terms and mechanisms for change.

Note that, as of January 1, 2024, a separate field with a QR code will be included in electricity bills and in every information message from suppliers to their customers, electronic or printed, to automatically compare the invoiced supply product with the rest of the invoiced product provided, in addition to referring to the price comparison tool website. RAAEF (www.energycost.gr).