volton: Volton’s customers are furious that their company…did not comply, while the Municipality of Athens also sued! All the news in xristika.gr…
The case brought by the Municipality of Athens is being referred to the Athens Public Prosecutor’s Office, which was formed after a complaint was filed by the Municipality of Athens against all those responsible.
Specifically, it was done to investigate two unprecedented cases of exorbitant charging of municipal fees against Athenian citizens by the private electric company VOLTON.
See in detail the entire case as it has emerged so far.
In the past period, the Municipality of Athens received two complaints from its citizens, regarding excessive charges against them by the VOLTON company (KEN Production and Trading of Energy Products Anonymous Company VOLTON Group of Companies).
The company in question included in the specific electricity bills (which are available to the Municipality of Athens), charges more than double the “cap”:
1. For Municipal Cleaning and Lighting Fees (DT) will be charged at a rate of 3.50 euros/m2. instead of the current 1.55 euros/m2.
2. For the Electricity Supply Tax (ST) charge at a rate of 3.45 euros/m2. instead of the current 0.33 euros/m2.
On the occasion of these two cases that have been identified, the mayor of Athens, Kostas Bakoyannis, issues a stern warning to those who try to take advantage of the current crisis.
“From the first moment that the Municipality of Athens received the complaints from its two citizens for excessive municipal fees on their accounts, it acted immediately and carried out all the necessary legal procedures, in order to thoroughly investigate the specific cases, which affect not only consumers, but also the Municipality itself.
It must be clear that we will not allow anyone, with such outrageous actions, to take advantage of the crisis at the expense of our citizens, with the aim of making dirty profits. We will take all necessary measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.”
Volton: Consumer outrage over electricity
At the moment when millions of Greeks were waiting for the subsidy announced by the government for electricity, they suddenly saw it reduced, with anger now boiling over!
Things are expected to be even more difficult in the energy sector for citizens, as the electricity subsidy has been reduced.
Households will pay more money for February, as the January subsidy is cut.
Compared to December, the subsidy for the current month will be 10 euros less.
The precision can be galloping and electricity and natural gas bills have doubled compared to six months ago, but the government proceeded in February to reduce the electricity subsidy.
Environment and Energy Minister Kostas Skrekas announced slightly lower subsidies on household electricity bills. For the first 150 kWh the subsidy will be 0.15 euros per kWh compared to 0.16 euros in January. For the next 150 to 300 kWh, the amount of the subsidy will be 0.11 euros/kWh compared to 0.12 in January.
The average monthly subsidy for a 300 kWh bill will be 39 euros in February, compared to 42 euros last month and 49 euros in December. And for February the subsidies will be applied to the main residence of consumer households and staggered based on consumption.
Regarding gas bills, the amount of the government subsidy does not change in February. It will be at 20 euros per MWh, the same as the DEPA Emporia discount at 20 euros per MWh.
The measure will affect 540,000 domestic consumers. DEPA will offer 20 euros per thermal megawatt hour for all monthly consumption. The benefit is 40 euros per thermal megawatt hour. At the same time, the minister also announced that the “Exkoonamo” platform will be open until March 15.
Some examples:
For a monthly consumption of 375 kilowatt hours (1500 kilowatt hours in four months) the February subsidy will cover the first 300 kilowatt hours with the amount of 39 euros. Thus, instead of 116 euros, the consumer will pay 77 euros.
In January he paid 74 euros. For a monthly consumption of 500 kilowatt hours (2000 kilowatt hours in four months), the subsidy also covers the first 300 kilowatt hours with the amount of 39 euros. This means that instead of 155 euros the consumer will pay 116 euros. In January he paid 113 euros.
It should be noted that today’s Skrekas announcements will be reflected in next month’s electricity bills. This week private providers began to pass the January subsidy on consumption and those who did not have time to adapt their systems to the new scaled charge data (160 euros/MWh for the first 150 KWh and 120 euros/MWh for consumption from 151 to 300 KWh) the subsidy will pass a week later.
For consumers who have already been billed, the subsidy will be applied retroactively to subsequent bills.
Volton: see what bills reach Greek households
And now the difficult times for consumers begin. The electricity bill in the example is real and one of the first statements that includes consumption for the months of October and November.
It also shows that, despite government subsidies, the charge for a kilowatt hour, at final retail price, can even exceed 30 minutes.
The consumer in the example received an invoice with a consumption of 692 kilowatt hours -515 in daytime consumption and 177 in nighttime consumption- which were made within a period of 40 days.
It is a consumption that differs slightly from the market average but is not considered “extreme”, especially for the autumn months, when both the thermos and the electrical heating devices start up and turn on.
The power company collected about 74 euros for itself. He charged 11 cents per kilowatt-hour during the day and 8 cents per kilowatt-hour at night. However, an additional €155 was added to this amount due to the readjustment clause.
In other words, the energy bill tripled in the specific period due to the clause, which charged the not inconsiderable amount of 22 cents per kilowatt hour.
Faced with such a burden, what to do with the approximately 48 euros that was the subsidy through the Energy Transition Fund. They just limited the extent of the damage. Of course, the regulated rates (about 32.17 euros) and VAT of 14.59 euros were added to the final invoice.
This will be the panorama of all the electric bills for the months of October, November and December and the current month is moving with very high levels of wholesale prices.
Consumers who have maintained the floating rate will be charged the 22 cents per kilowatt hour of the clause regardless of the company with which they work.
And for the first months of 2022, they will wait to see what the government’s benefit policy will be and whether or not criteria will be established for the payment of aid.
Volton: What to do to lower your bills
At the same time, the Energy Regulatory Authority is making efforts to spare consumers the… electric shock of increases in electricity bills. Look what it says in xristika.gr…
Consumers have the opportunity to “anticipate” the consequences of possible increases in electricity rates, provided they are informed and choose the electricity provider that best suits their profile and needs.
Price increases in the European wholesale market have upset consumers, who are waiting for their next bill to see the magnitude of the price increase.
The Energy Regulatory Authority on the website www.energycost.gr provides through an online tool the possibility for domestic and professional consumers to compare all the rates offered by the market by entering their consumption data and their individual preferences, finding the most economical for ‘them package. In fact, the discrepancy between providers and the specific needs of each consumer can vary from 40% to 100%.
The increase in the prices of natural gas and carbon dioxide emission rights causes the increase in prices and energy, being the appropriate choice of the supplier an important initiative to avoid unpleasant surprises in the next electricity bills.
In addition to finding the best deal for the consumer, the government tries to relieve the consumer of additional burdens.