Each household can replace up to three devices.
(Photo: imago/Science Photo Library)
Athens Whether in Media Markt, at Euronics or at the Greek electronics market leader Kotsovolos: the rush is now great in the Hellenic household appliance trade. Customers are particularly interested in refrigerators and air conditioners. The reason for the crowd is not only the temperatures, which currently reach 36 degrees in Athens at noon.
Anyone who now exchanges their old air conditioner for a new, energy-efficient device will be reimbursed half of the purchase price by the state – and can look forward to lower electricity bills in the future. There are also subsidies for the purchase of new refrigerators and freezers.
The subsidies are part of a crisis concept with which the government of conservative Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is reacting to the tense supply situation for natural gas and the exploding electricity prices. In order to be prepared for bottlenecks in the natural gas supply, the state-owned electricity supplier Public Power Corporation is now restarting idle coal-fired power plants.
At the same time, the government is trying to reduce power consumption. It is providing 148 million euros for the renewal of older household appliances. The money comes from the EU structural funds. The aim is to decommission 380,000 old air conditioners and refrigerators and replace them with new ones over the next few weeks.
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Around 200,000 households will receive subsidies, Energy and Environment Minister Kostas Skrekas calculates. Each household can replace up to three devices. Two of them may be air conditioners. The new air conditioners must have at least efficiency class A++, refrigerators at least class E, freezers class F or better.
The procedure is very simple: You apply for the grants via an Internet portal of the Ministry of Energy, which is activated until Friday. All private households are eligible. All you have to do is enter your tax number, the number of the electricity connection and your mobile phone number. By the end of July, the applicant will receive a voucher in the form of a QR code on their mobile phone. The retailer reads the code, deducts the subsidy from the gross purchase price and is reimbursed by the tax authorities for the discount.
State rebate ranges from 30 to 50 percent of the retail price
It can make up between 30 and 50 percent of the gross sales price. The amount depends on the last net income of the household and the size of the family. The upper limit is 710 euros per device. The new devices must be purchased by September 16th and the old ones handed in for recycling by September 30th. Energy Minister Skrekas promises families who make use of the subsidy a reduction in electricity bills of 150 to 300 euros a year.
The state should also save. The public sector in Greece spent 596 million euros on electricity, natural gas and heating oil in 2020, as calculated by Alexandra Sdoukou, Secretary General at the Ministry of Energy. In 2021, the bill already amounted to 956 million euros. To counteract this, state energy consumers, from ministries to public organizations, hospitals, schools and universities, to regional administrations and municipalities, are to reduce their energy consumption by ten percent.
With immediate effect, air conditioning systems in public buildings may not be set to temperatures below 26 degrees Celsius. The state wants to reward municipalities that achieve the savings target this year with bonuses. Funds of 150 million euros are available in the budget for this purpose.
By 2030, 30 percent of energy costs should be saved
By the year 2030, savings of 30 percent are to be achieved compared to 2022, for example through the use of energy-efficient heating and air-conditioning devices, energy upgrading of buildings and the use of solar panels for the power supply of public buildings. Sdoukou sees potential savings of 35 to 50 percent in street lighting alone.
Every public authority must appoint an energy officer. For example, he should ensure that lights, air conditioners and computers are switched off in rooms that are not in use. Energy General Secretary Sdoukou puts the possible savings at 600 gigawatt hours per year. That would be about 1.2 percent of the country’s current electricity consumption.
But it may be about more than saving electricity. Political observers see the grants as an indication of upcoming elections. Inflation and the energy crisis are likely to hit people with full force next winter. Prime Minister Mitsotakis could therefore consider bringing forward the parliamentary elections, which are due in spring 2023, to September.
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