The Minister of Environment and Energy, Thodoros Skylakakis, spoke about five measures to reduce farmers’ electricity costs at a special event held today (2/2) as part of «Agrotica» in Thessaloniki.
The Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, had previously made relevant announcements from the floor of Parliament. Mr. Skylakakis and the Deputy Minister of Environment and Energy, Alexandra Sdoukou, provided details of these measures at the conference titled: «Innovative reforms for a resilient tomorrow. Turning challenges into gold for the Greek land». Specifically, the five measures include the following:
- An additional 10% discount on agricultural electricity, following a decision by PPC. The discount will apply from May through September (the months of high agricultural consumption).
- Debt owed to PPC and other providers by Local and General Land Reclamation Organizations (TOEB, GOEB), currently amounting to 87 million euros, will be restructured. In Thessaly, the Land Reclamation Organizations will be abolished and their activities incorporated into the new Thessaly Water Organization, with the State assuming 75% of the debt owed by Thessaly’s organizations (8 million euros). In the rest of Greece, the debts (76 million euros) will be repaid over ten years at zero interest, subsidized by the State.
- To address farmers’ increased energy costs, the government will secure a medium-term cost reduction of at least 30% compared with current prices, for a period of ten years, for farmers who participate in collaborative schemes (cooperatives, organizations, producer groups, etc.) and farmers engaged in contract farming. To this end, it will give priority to and subsidize the construction of photovoltaic parks with batteries, which will be made available exclusively to these categories of farmers through long-term bilateral electricity supply contracts. These bilateral contracts—similar to those made with industry—will be implemented within two years of the measure’s introduction.
- The «Apollo» program is also a major milestone: it is the country’s largest green-energy net-metering program. Mature renewable energy projects will be selected through tenders and will begin supplying electricity within two years. The energy procured from these projects will be used to cover part of the energy needs of vulnerable citizens, first- and second-tier local authorities, DEYAs, and Local and General Land Reclamation Organizations. Through the «Apollo» program, therefore, TOEBs and GOEBs will receive substantial, lasting relief from energy costs, which hinder them from fulfilling their vital mission and limit their growth potential.
- A new program for individual farmers will launch immediately, exclusively for farmers, titled «Photovoltaics in the Field», with a budget of 30 million euros. At the same time, the «locked-in» grid capacity available as a priority to farmers at each DEDDIE substation is being increased immediately (from 3MW to 6MW) (6MW X 225 substations across the country = 1350MW). The permitted capacity for farmers’ photovoltaic systems is also being increased (from 10kW to 50kW), with priority access to the «locked-in» capacity.
