2024-07-13 00:05:40
Explanations – clarifications for the recalculation of state aid between February 2022 and December 2023, which forces small and medium-sized businesses to return money they have received, the Minister of Environment and Energy, Thodoros Skylakakis, gave, speaking to a radio station.
Mr. Skylakakis underlined that the total amount to be returned is less than 2 million euros and concerns less than 2,500 businesses, according to the official data from the providers. At the same time, he emphasized that more companies will receive, in total, more than 4 million euros, i.e. extra money.
“Difficulty to check in real time”
He explained, in relation to state aid, that based on European legislation, no member state can exceed the limits, as it is expressly prohibited. In addition, he mentioned the difficulty of doing the accumulation check in real time, because the exact amount of the subsidy is learned by each business at the end, when it receives the bill from the provider.
The Minister of Environment and Energy added: “The company is aware of any state aid it receives. In fact, it was later requested, because the payment of the subsidies took a long time, that there be a Responsible Declaration, that the limit provided for by European legislation will not be exceeded. Many businesses did not complete it, the subsidies ended and the recalculation took place, which gives a positive sign for the majority of small and medium-sized businesses.”
Complaint by G. Hatzitheodosiou: They are asking back the money given as state subsidies for the electricity
What drives up electricity prices?
In a question related to electricity prices, the Minister pointed out: “The price phenomenon we have is a real situation that has nothing to do with our issues. After the blackout that happened in the Balkan countries, we have problems in a number of connections there. The system is not working smoothly, Hungary has reached a price per megawatt hour of 650 euros, they have interconnection problems throughout the region.
1 GW has also been released outside of Bulgaria, with the result that we have very high prices in the straight line Hungary – Bulgaria – Greece, due to the interconnections we have and the exports we are obliged to make. The exogenous factor is what is pushing our prices up… It is something that can even out within the next three days.
This depends on when Bulgaria’s big nuclear plant comes back on, the cable flow from Italy is fully restored and the interconnection problems, especially between Romania and Hungary, are fixed.”
He noted that if this phenomenon lasts longer, a solution will have to be found, but for the two-three days it is not necessary to take emergency measures.
As to whether the subsidy mechanism will be reinstated
In relation to whether the mechanism of subsidy on electricity bills has passed irretrievably, he noted: “You can never say that at whatever price the tariffs reach, it has definitively passed. At this stage, what we see is that: we will have seasonal fluctuations and fluctuations based on such phenomena. Sometimes we will go much lower and sometimes we will go much higher in prices. That is why the fixed tariffs that the providers still offer are significantly below the current prices. In other words, someone who wants to “lock” these tariffs, which are essentially at pre-crisis levels, can do so today.”
In fact, as the Minister characteristically said, he estimates that the average price this year will not exceed that of January.