The certainty that government will support households as long as energy crisis gave yesterday, addressing SKAI, Minister of the Environment and Energy Kostas Skrekas.

At the same time, prices continued to rise, raising concerns about the implications for household budgets, as well as for the government, to the extent that it continues to subsidize electricity tariffs and market petrol. The price for electricity is more than 400 euros per MWh and for natural gas more than 200 euros per MWh, which is double the initial estimate of the state subsidy.

“In August alone, we announced subsidies in the amount of 1.136 billion euros specifically to support households and small and medium-sized enterprises. This will continue as long as the energy crisis lasts,” Mr. Skrekas said yesterday. “Our top priority is to keep bills affordable through the energy company fee cap mechanism and the indirect cap in retail where we absorb 90% of markups.”

RAE published yesterday on its website the tariffs of suppliers for the supply of electricity.

Meanwhile, Powers to regulate energy yesterday denounced the phenomenon of misleading advertising by energy providers that falsely claim to offer discounts on their electricity bills without saying that they are government subsidies and not “rebates” provided by them. It is noted that the state subsidy reaches 0.337 euros per kWh and it is it that provides prices of about 15-17 cents per kWh for consumers. “Such tactics are clearly misleading,” the RAE said in a statement, “because it could give consumers the wrong impression of a supplier’s pricing policy. In essence, the concealment of the nature of the discount and/or its distorted or selective presentation undermines the right of the consumer to freely choose a supplier and supply goods, following reliable and transparent information. In addition, such deceptive tactics may give unfair advantages to some suppliers, leading to the disruption of healthy competition in the retail market.”

The Minister of Energy also criticized the relevant practice, stressing: “We are not going to allow the phenomenon of unfair commercial practices and circumvention of the legal framework that we voted for in order to protect consumers.”

“We have seen how several providers have changed fixed charges and increased them unimaginably, we have adopted a provision with a ceiling of up to 5 euros per month for fixed charges. We will not allow the phenomena of speculation and misleading consumers, we will protect consumers, we will not tolerate abusive behavior from anyone, the punishment will be severe.” Suppliers, according to Mr. Skrekas, must clearly inform their consumers about the price of electricity they sell, and “we announce monthly subsidies. The consumer will know how much electricity he buys.”

In addition, Mr. Skrekas noted that through the RAE website, the consumer can compare prices and choose the most competitive supplier. Indeed, yesterday the RAE published on its website the tariffs of suppliers for the supply of electricity for August.