ATHENS – “We will stand at the side of every Greek man and woman until this storm passes, until we emerge victorious once again. All together!” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a statement concerning the activation on Friday of the Power Pass payments to consumers, which offset a part of the increase in their electricity bills since last December.

Mitsotakis noted that this corrected an injustice, pointing out that more than three million applications had been processed in the space of a few weeks and that nearly two million beneficiaries were already receiving sums ranging from 18 to 600 euros, with 260 million euros in total paid into the bank accounts of citizens. Another 40 million euros will soon be paid out to cover the bills issued in June, he added.

“Today the state is activating yet another weapon in the battle against high prices, which affect all countries and all households: the Power Pass app starts the backdated compensation of consumers for a part of the increases in electricity from last December until June,” he said.

These sums, combined with other discounts and subsidies, alleviated the impact of the price rises caused by the war in Ukraine and the global energy crisis, the premier added, noting that this relief was possible due to the greater growth that created additional fiscal space and the decision to return the benefits to society.

“I am well aware of the daily pressure exerted by the imported inflation. We are now raising another barrier to this. Obviously, I would like this to be greater but this must be measured against the reality and what the country can afford,” he said.

Mitsotakis described this support as a targeted action, accompanied by the effective elimination of the adjustment clause from August onward, while pointing out that prices for natural gas were six times higher than the previous year and no government was able to fully absorb but only contain this higher cost.

“This is what we are doing with initiatives such as that today, which covers 60 pct of the price hikes,” he said.

“We are at war and this is the cost of our national defence against a global challenge that requires a European response. A response which our country will strive for until it is given. In the meantime, however, the government is exhausting all fiscal margins to protect the purchasing power of the citizens. All margins have limits, however, and those promising easy solutions are simply telling facile lies,” Mitsotakis added.