The Greek Minister of Energy, Theodoros Skylakakis, has indicated that the government is likely to continue subsidizing electricity bills into September due to recent rises in natural gas prices. These price increases were observed at the end of August and have led to heightened concerns about energy costs.
While the Ministry is still awaiting official September pricing announcements from electricity providers, Skylakakis suggests that continued subsidies will probably be necessary. For context, the August subsidy was 1.6 eurocents per kWh, which effectively reduced most end-users’ bills to less than 0.15 euros per kWh. This subsidy was financed through a windfall tax on additional profits earned by refineries.
In addition to ongoing subsidies, Skylakakis anticipates that energy prices might decrease later in the year. This expectation is based on anticipated lower demand in the autumn and the increased contribution of renewable energy sources to the power grid.
For households consuming up to 500 kWh, the August subsidy was set at 0.016 euros per kWh, benefiting 90% of users on floating rate tariffs. Those on social tariffs received a fixed subsidy of 0.05 euros per kWh, regardless of consumption levels.
Recent developments, including a rise in natural gas prices and higher European futures contracts (above 39 euros per MWh), have been influenced by anticipated reduced supply due to maintenance work at Norwegian Equinor and ongoing geopolitical tensions. Despite these factors, Russian gas supplies to Europe have not been interrupted thus far, although there are still concerns about potential disruptions.
