The drop in natural gas prices and subsequent drop in electricity prices announced for February, which are 60 % lower compared to the previous month, will lead to a significant drop in subsidies paid by the state to energy consumers in February.
Greek Minister of Energy Kostas Skrekas is expected to announce a 4 eurocents/kWh subsidy for the first 500 kWh for residential consumers and zero subsidies for industrial consumers, as the nominal price is set below the January subsidy level of 23 euros.
The second and third tier of household consumption, namely 500-1,000 kWh and above 1,000 kWh, will receive a subsidy only if they achieve a 15 % saving.
According to Energy Ministry, the subsidies will once again be decided in the coming months based on the price trend in the wholesale market and the prices of providers.
The total cost of subsidies is currently expected to be just around 100 million euros for February, down from 840 million euros in January and the extremely high 1.9 billion euros in September 2022. The total budget for residential consumers will be between 50 and 60 million euros in February, down from 470 million euros in January.
In 2022, a total of 8 billion euros was allocated from the Energy Transition Fund and the state budget for energy subsidies.
