“The green tariff is not abolished. It will continue to be offered to all who have opted in. What is being abolished is the obligation for providers to offer it, from 1.1.2025 to new customers”.
This was underlined by the Minister of Environment and Energy, Thodoros Skylakakis, speaking on a radio station.
According to the relevant announcement of the Ministry of the Interior, the minister noted that the providers will not be legally obliged to offer the green tariff from the beginning of the new year, because European legislation does not allow, in perpetuity, obligations in pricing. Nevertheless, he estimated that most will keep it for young consumers, since it is an extremely popular product. “From the beginning when this compulsion was legislated it was for one year. The law was transitional,” he said characteristically.
He explained that consumers who are already on the green tariff remain on it, until they decide themselves, for any reason, to change either type or provider of the tariff.
Speaking about the long-term planning of the Ministry of Environment and Energy in relation to tariffs, he pointed out: “In the long run we will have two main pricing methods. The dynamic (orange) tariff, which will start in the next period of time for businesses mainly because they have – basically – smart meters. This is very important because they will be able to lower the cost of electricity. In addition, we will – in the long run – also encourage fixed tariffs, as is done in the rest of Europe, so that someone who has little consumption and does not have the time is not obliged to monitor the “ups and downs” of the market”.
Regarding the need that led to the establishment of the green tariff, he said: “The green tariff was instituted so that we could know the prices. To have an invoice based on which we can compare prices. This worked! We know the prices. This price knowledge is our profit. Even if a consumer stays on the green tariff, the providers will be obliged to announce the prices and the consumer can make a comparison. The issue of price transparency is profit. He will continue. So we will continue to have – as we learned them – these four existing types of invoices (green, blue, yellow and orange). However, the number of consumers using each will gradually change, as the energy transition progresses.”
The Minister of Environment and Energy emphasized that: “The most interesting thing that will happen for domestic consumers is that two consumption zones will be created… In general, the cheap prices are from 10 in the morning to 3 in the afternoon, depending on the season and many hours on the weekend, which is generally cheaper. So we will make this change (from nocturnal to two new zones) and there will also be seasonality in the change. The exact timing of the zones will be determined in about two weeks. In the current phase at the Ministry we are “running” an evaluation of the data on the consumption that is done per hour and per device, so that we can have a complete picture in relation to how the intervention should be done”.
Regarding what consumers who already have a night tariff should do, he replied: “They don’t need to do anything. They will automatically switch to the two-zone tariff, but if they wish to have a single price they can change.”
He added that: “We have in the country a large number of population who are at home. They are retirees, they are People with Special Needs, they are couples, where one of them does not work, they are those who work remotely, there are many freelancers, they are farmers whose employment is seasonal, 150,000 households who have a baby at home until turns 2 years old to go to daycare. All of them – until now – the cheap lunch prices could not take advantage of them, and they need energy to cook, to warm those who are heated with electricity”.
Finally, when asked if Greece can leave the Energy Exchange in order to have a stable electricity price, Mr. Skylakakis noted: “No, it cannot leave, based on European directives. We are a member state of the EU, where specific directives are provided.”
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