In the aftermath of deaths in households where power had been turned off for non-payment, leading people to turn to makeshift stoves and other heating devices, the Greek government has promised once again that it’s trying to make sure the poor won’t go without electricity this winter.
An avalanche of tax hikes, including on fuel, as well as property tax surcharges tucked into utility bills on the threat of having the electricity turned off for non-payment have left many Greeks turning to fireplaces or other ways to keep warm as the temperatures begin to drop.
Following talks with Environment Minister Yiannis Maniatis, Deputy Prime Minister Evangelos Venizelos said the government would take “radical measures” to ensure that power is restored to low-income households that have had their electricity disconnected and that thousands more Greeks unable to pay their bills will not be at risk of losing their power supply.
“There will be no home without electricity,” Venizelos told reporters. He didn’t say what the radical measures would be nor why it’s taking so long for someone to throw the switch to turn the power back on for people who can’t afford it because of big pay cuts, tax hikes or slashed pensions imposed by the government on the orders of international lenders putting up rescue packages.
Earlier Maniatis had said low-income families would receive free electricity on days when there is smog due to smoke emitted from the increased use of fireplaces, which is so common that the night air in Athens and other Greek municipalities smells like a backed-up chimney, creating what environmentalists said is dangerous toxicity.
Maniatis told Mega TV said some 470,000 households, 150,000 of which are in Attica, would be eligible for free electricity when there is smog. He said that for every day smoke particles pass the level of 150 mg/m3, families would receive two days of free electricity.
He said the aim is to reduce the frequency with which Greeks use their fireplaces to keep warm during the winter due to the rising cost of heating oil. Maniatis added that organizations providing welfare, such as those run by the Church of Greece and municipalities, would be given a 70 percent reduction on their electricity bills. “We believe that there are 2,000 to 3,000 such organizations,” said the minister.
The series of initiatives by the government follows a spate of fires in homes without electricity over the past two weeks, two of which were fatal.
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