One of the major tragedies in the financial crisis plaguing Greece is the inability to pay for heating, with the prices of heating oil, electricity and natural gas being beyond the capabilities of a significant number of households. As a result, many households have resorted to their tried-and-tested fireplaces and wood burners for warmth, which is having a detrimental impact on the environment.
In order to tackle this exacerbating problem, the Ministry of the Environment is considering providing free electricity on days when the smog is excessive. The Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE) is expected to approve this initiative, which will have a retroactive effect and will only apply to those on DEI’s social tariff.
According to the plan, two days of free electricity will be provided for every one day when the concentration of floating particles exceeds 150 micrograms per cubic meter of air. The likeliest source of funds to cover this free electricity will be the much-touted primary surplus.
Over the past weekend, when the weather conditions were milder than over the previous days, the monitoring station in Marousi measured 110 micrograms per cubic meter, while other stations measured 85 to 87 micrograms.
