Following the meeting of the General Secretary of the Central Committee of AKEL Stefanos Stefanos with the President of the Republic on energy issues, a delegation of AKEL, led by member of P.During the meeting, important policy issues on energy were raised, such as the need to hold tenders for the purchase of the lowest possible price for energy from RES for the benefit of consumers and the economy. A proposal was also put forward to extend the Net metering and Self-Generation projects, without restrictions, interruptions and re-tenders.
A proposal was again put forward by AKEL to use part of the revenues from the auctioning of greenhouse gases, as provided for in the European directive, in order to abolish the fee for RES and public utility services paid by consumers. The AKEL delegation also proposed the direct support of vulnerable consumers by the state in order to tackle energy poverty, as well as the removal of the relevant tax paid with the electricity bill from other consumers.
He also recommended extending the reduction of VAT on electricity from 19% to 9% with no time limit, as well as the adoption of a zero VAT rate for the cost of greenhouse gas emissions because it constitutes double taxation.
The Party's delegation expressed to the Minister the Party's concern about the long delay in the implementation of the gas injection project for electricity generation and its consequences in terms of cost, adequacy and security of supply. Given that the gas advent timetable for 2023 does not seem feasible, the Ministry was asked whether it was considering alternative proposals that would ensure early gas advent at a lower cost.
Finally, the Minister was asked whether the Government plans to align itself with the Southern countries - Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal and the French Presidency - at the upcoming energy market summit. The effort these countries are making is to pass the benefit of low-cost renewables directly to consumers and the economy, rather than rewarding producers with the sky-high cost of gas and conventional fuels.
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