ATHENS – Environment and Energy Minister Kostas Skrekas on Wednesday officially announced a generous increase of support measures for households and businesses in the face of sharply rising electricity prices, with the subsidy more than doubling to 39 euros a month. For industry using the medium voltage grid and natural gas consumers, there will be a suspension of charges included in the bill.

“The government’s message is that we will continue to support society so that no household is left unprotected from the energy crisis raging in Europe,” Skrekas said.

The measures announced by the minister are:

For households and businesses using the low-voltage grid, there will be a subsidy of 39 euros a month in November and December, up from 9.0 euros in September and 18 euros in October, for consumption of up to 300 kWh a month. For households qualifying for the Social Residential Tariff, the subsidy will be 45 euros a month from 24 in October.

For natural gas consumers, in addition to an increase in the amount allocated to heating benefits (to 170 million euros from 80 million euros) and a 15 pct discount for domestic consumption, there will be a suspension of fees for using the network for November and December. For households that consume 2 MWh a month, Skrekas said, this reduction will be 20-40 euros a month and the charges for using the grid will be paid from 2022, when natural gas prices fall.

For industrial uses and other activity using the medium-voltage network, public utility services charges will be suspended for five months (November to March), facilitating the liquidity of businesses by 63 million euros. These charges will also be paid once electricity prices on the stock market have fallen and following an assessment of the needs of the public utility services account, which are expected to fall as the interconnection of the islands to the main grid progresses.