ATHENS – Greeks struggling to pay their electricity bills that doubled in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are seeing a slight drop but the rates are still the highest in Europe.

The New Democracy government pumped in more than 9 billion euros ($9.69 billion) to help households pay for bills that for some soared past 500 euros ($538) a month, more than the rent for some.

Most Greek power providers announced significantly lower rates for April, following the easing of prices in the Greek energy exchange and in international markets although bills in some cases still are more than 100 euros ($108) monthly.

In many cases prices are lower than 15-16 cents per Kilowatt Hour (KWh,) which is the target price for consumers after including state subsidies, which are to be announced imminent, said the state-run Athens-Macedonia News Agency AMNA.

But the average price per Megawatt Hour (MWh) was 133.98 euros ($144.26) compared to 146.16 euros ($157.38) over a seven-day period, which nonetheless was an 81-week low, bringing some relief.

Retail tariffs for the month of April are estimated to be 15-20 percent lower than those in March, which were in the range of 20-25 cents per kilowatt-hour. April’s basic tariffs are expected to fluctuate around 15-20 cents per kilowatt-hour.