Electricity pricing

The European Commission is set to propose a revamp of Europe's electricity market rules on Tuesday, aimed at expanding the use of fixed-price power contracts to shield consumers from severe price spikes like those experienced last year.

European Union countries will have to protect vulnerable consumers from being cut off by electricity suppliers if they cannot pay their bills, according to draft EU rules due to be published on Tuesday.

The Greek annual inflation rate slowed further to 6.1% in February from 7% in January and 7.2% in February 2022, the Hellenic Statistical Authority said on Monday. However, this development is attributed solely to a drop in electricity prices while the consumer price index in foods and food items jumped 14.8% in the month.

Natural gas prices for household consumers dropped 23% in February, according to a report by HEPI (Household Energy Price Index for Europe) released on Wednesday.

The European Union has drafted plans to nudge countries towards using more long-term, fixed-price electricity contracts, as part of a reform of Europe's power market designed to shield consumers from price spikes.

The government has significantly reduced the level of electricity bill subsidization for February, given the considerable decline in international natural gas rates, which have slashed the cost of electricity production.

Environment and Energy Minister Kostas Skrekas will on Tuesday morning announce the subsidies for February electricity consumption, which will be significantly lower than those of January, after the de-escalation of the wholesale electricity price led to a nominal kilowatt-hour price 60% below the current price.

The fall of natural gas prices and the nominal electricity rates issued by providers for February, which are 60% less expensive than those of January and quite similar to pre-crisis levels, is leading to a major easing of pressure on state coffers.

Greece remained among the most expensive wholesale electricity markets in Europe in 2022, a year when the average price of electricity increased by 141% compared to 2021.

In the same year, the cost of natural gas imports more than doubled compared to 2021, while it almost quintupled compared to 2018.

Greece's power suppliers have announced significantly reduced electricity tariffs for February, with Public Power Corporation (PPC) saying that its rate is down 57-64% compared to January.