New measures to protect electricity consumers - Kathimerini English Edition

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New measures to protect electricity consumers

Environment and Energy Minister Theodoros Skylakakis announced a series of new measures for the reduction of electricity rates while speaking at an Institute of Energy for Southeast Europe (IENE) conference on Tuesday.

“We are examining more aspects and charges in the bills in order to improve them, to make them more competitive,” he said, while noting the measures already announced to tackle electricity theft, strategic bad payers or the introduction of color-coded bills for different payment schemes.

Referring to the new framework coming into effect from January 1, 2024, with the mandatory uniform rate derived from a mathematical formula, he said that the ministry’s role is to protect the weakest parties, who are neither the producers nor the suppliers of electricity but the consumers, especially those who pay their bills.

“We listen to the market but our position is to defend the consumer,” he said.

Skylakakis also noted that energy independence is a top priority for Europe and for Greece given the increasing uncertainty and geopolitical changes.

Finally, he underlined it would be a mistake to commit to any of the alternative energy sources (such as hydrogen or energy storage) because the relevant technologies are still developing and it is not yet known which will prevail.

However, he said Greece will tread carefully toward developing offshore wind parks, where it has a competitive advantage.