The distress signal is emitted for an entire hour Greek industry through a letter to the prime minister requesting a meeting with him and his immediate intervention to deal with the aftermath of the launch energy cost.

“The intensity of the challenges, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as for energy-intensive industries, is now taking on the dimensions of an existential risk,” the letter, signed by the presidents of nine industrial organizations in the country, said.BSE, SBE, EBIKEN, Greek made, SVAP, SVTHSE, STHEV, SEVBDE, SVSE– in the context of joint intervention, which, According to reportswas launched under pressure from its constituent companies as the prolonged energy crisis makes the struggle for survival more and more difficult day by day.

The problem has become even worse since the beginning of the year with the power-intensive industry’s CPP contracts expiring, leaving companies exposed to international competition forced to operate at market power prices and without any predictability as tariffs change every month.

Industry associations acknowledge the state’s efforts to mitigate the effects of the energy crisis on businesses, but note that after a period of positive performance, industrial production in Greece has moved at a lower level than the EU average in recent months. and there is a risk of losing the positive momentum that industries, in particular, have been able to recover in recent years, and they warn of the consequences, especially in the area of ​​income and employment, of a possible slowdown in industrial activity.

An additional reason for concern for the competitiveness of enterprises and especially Greek industry is the fact that the Member States, in the absence of a common policy at the EU level, are using increasingly effective measures to support their industry in order to compensate for high costs, using, among other things, the European Interim State Assistance Program to overcome the consequences of the crisis.

This fact, as they note in their letter to the Prime Minister, “endangers the domestic market, creating further inequality between countries.”

There is also dissatisfaction with the position of the EU, which was reported to “confine itself to empty statements about industrial strategy and insist on punitive measures that directly threaten the viability and competitiveness of domestic industry and run counter to its own climate goals”, at the same time that important trading partners of Europe are conducting “policy of aggressive support”.

The positive momentum that the industry has been able to regain in recent years is in danger of being lost.

What do they offer?

The industry is asking that support measures continue as long as the crisis lasts, in a way that provides at least medium-term predictability of business actions. It also reinstates the requirement to remove the restriction on the industry’s bilateral contracts with manufacturers. He calls for strengthening bilateral contracts by limiting participation of new projects in the next tenders to 50%, directing manufacturers to the market and taking all possible measures to help enterprises install renewable energy systems, as well as incentives to support enterprises in the green transition from the NSRF or Recovery Fund.

According to the industry, there is an urgent need to take action based on the following proposals:

1. Energy cost compensation. The applied model on a monthly basis leads to the impossibility of even short-term forecasting of the final cost of energy. It is proposed to adopt a target price on the model applied by other Member States by regularly updating the subsidy. It is also proposed to establish a subsidy of 20 EUR/MWh on the cost of industrial natural gas for 2023.

2. PPA (bilateral contracts). Exclude renewables from the compensation ceiling as they are a key tool for reducing energy costs for businesses and regulation should not be limited to physical supply contracts.

3. Other expenses. Since August 2021, system payments (ADMIE) have increased by 150%, with no reduction in utilities (YKO). It is proposed to immediately restore accruals to the pre-crisis level for the duration of the crisis and at the same time reduce the ICO based on the implemented relationships.

4. Infrastructure. Immediate upgrades to the grid infrastructure to limit the damage that burdens industries to continuously operate at high volumes, while at the same time there will be scope for further penetration of renewables.