10% reduction in electricity - These are the additional measures of the Government (VIDEO)

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A series of compensatory measures in order to address the price increases in electricity, which affect households and businesses, announced today, Friday, September 17, 2021, the Minister of Energy, Trade and Industry Ms. Natasa Pileidou.

The proposed measures, which are analyzed below, are the result of consultation between the Ministries of Energy and Finance, the Cyprus Energy Regulatory Authority (CERA) and the Cyprus Electricity Authority (EAC) and were based on studies conducted to, on the one hand, immediate and long-term benefit for electricity consumers and, on the other hand, not to negatively affect the solvency and viability of the EAC in the midst of the effort to launch the competitive electricity market. The initial form of the measures was discussed with the President of the Republic Mr. Nikos Anastasiadis, last Tuesday, in a meeting at the Presidential Palace with the participation of the Ministers of Energy and Finance and CERA.

Announcing the measures to representatives of the media, the Minister of Energy explained that the phenomenon of increasing the price of electricity is due to the increase in the international price of oil and gas and other charges. "The demand for fuel, as well as the rising price of greenhouse gas emissions, have pushed prices to extremely high levels, resulting in record prices across Europe. It is noted that Cyprus, along with Poland and Bulgaria, had the smallest increases. In addition, despite the increases in oil prices and emission costs, but also the abolition of the 10% discount on electricity bills that had been implemented due to a pandemic, the price of electricity in our country today is at the same levels as in 2018 and 2019 , according to CERA data.

However, the Government, realizing the difficult situation of households and businesses due to the consequences of the pandemic crisis, has prepared proposals to mitigate the effects of price increases on energy costs.

The measures decided are the following:

1) Absorption by the EAC of part of the basic pricing of electricity network charges and reduction of 10% in consumer tariffs, for the two months November - December 2021 and January - February 2022.

2) Diversification of the Sponsorship Plan for installation of photovoltaic system by home consumers, including a category of virtual net-metering (Virtual net-metering), for consumers who can not, due to technical constraints and / or limited space, install photovoltaic systems in the of their buildings. In this way, household consumers will be able to install photovoltaic systems on other roofs of buildings or on the ground, whose electricity production will be offset by the consumption of a specific house.

3) The existing Plan to Encourage the use of Renewable Energy Sources and Energy Saving in homes (for thermal insulation of ceilings, installation of photovoltaics or a combination of the two), which expires on December 20, 2021, will be re-announced immediately with the approval of the budget. and EX.E. and will have retroactive effect from the end of this year's announcement.

4) Preparation of a Sponsorship Plan for immediate announcement, which will provide sponsorship to vulnerable consumers for the replacement of energy-intensive appliances and, in particular, air conditioners and refrigerators, with new efficient high-energy class products. In addition, the replacement of old type bulbs with LED bulbs will be subsidized, for vulnerable household consumers.

5) Announcement of a special Support Plan, in collaboration with the Ministries of Energy and Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, for the use of RES in the agricultural sector. The main goal of the Plan is to reduce the cost of pumping irrigation water. The Plan will be announced in the coming months.

6) Announcement of Sponsorship Plan and tender for new commercial RES systems and for energy storage, which can help reduce the price of electricity due to the lower operating cost of electricity generation than the corresponding production with conventional fuels. The Plan is scheduled to become operational in 2022, subject to approval by the EU.

7) Conduct an information campaign to promote an energy saving culture.

In addition, in order to implement further long-term measures, it has been agreed with the EAC to study the possible purchase of pollutant rights at the beginning of the year, which are cheaper and in case of excess to sell them at the end of the year when prices are higher. Similar best practices will be studied for the supply of liquid fuels, while the submission of additional suggestions for measures by the EAC is expected.