Greek electricity bills undergo major changes as green tariffs burn consumers while blue options offer savings

The Greek market for electric energy now operates with electricity tariffs running at two speeds for households, as on one hand there are those that “burn” consumers and on the other, those that “cool” us during heatwaves or heat us more economically in winter.

The notorious “green special tariffs,” which are also the most widespread with over 4 million connections, are becoming increasingly expensive from most companies month by month, while in contrast many suppliers are focusing on promoting fixed (blue) tariffs with 12-month or longer duration. These prove to be significantly more economical, as they “guarantee” savings that can reach or even exceed **200 euros annually** for households with average consumption of 350 kilowatt-hours per month (over 90% of connections).

Green tariffs become unprofitable, shift to blue ones

**According to a report by “Apogeymatini,”** regarding August, supplier charges showed that it is now **unprofitable** to be billed with the so-called “green” tariffs for electricity consumption, as for yet another month, the kilowatt-hour price rose significantly, and if it weren’t for PPC keeping it in check – as the strongest player – by absorbing wholesale market costs and providing significant discounts, the picture would be even worse.

Regarding the “green” tariff, its “price list” became more expensive by an average additional 6% and the average kilowatt-hour price for August stands at 19 cents, starting from PPC’s 15.6 cents which is the cheapest and reaching 25.5 cents, excluding VAT.

At the same time, companies are **raising charges high on green variable tariffs**, following an aggressive policy of attracting customers to fixed programs, where nominal billing prices are 50% to 70% lower, as one can find large and smaller suppliers charging each kilowatt-hour from 0.088 to 0.099 euros with 10 cents, providing consistency discounts through direct debit bank payments.

Taking into account the significantly higher fixed charge of blue tariffs, which in most cases is set at 9.90 euros per month, the real discount is limited to 30%-40%. Nevertheless, the “final net price” is in any case much more advantageous than that of green tariffs and this is proven by the fact that today more than 1.5 million households and companies **have turned to fixed tariffs**, achieving a noticeable reduction in their monthly bills.

The options

**Up to 200 euros per year can be saved** on electricity bills by a household that consumes around 350 kilowatt-hours each month and chooses a fixed blue tariff, even compared to a green one (16-17 euros per month). Assuming they choose a blue tariff with a nominal price of 0.09 euros/kilowatt-hour and calculating the fixed charge of 9.9 euros and 6% VAT, they would be charged monthly with a final price of approximately 0.125 euros.

Therefore, their monthly cost for 350 kilowatt-hours would be approximately 45 euros and annually 540 euros. This cost includes fixed charges of 118.8 euros (9.90 euros, double that of green tariffs).

On the other hand, if they choose to remain with a green tariff with an average nominal price of 15-16 cents and a fixed charge of 5 euros/month, the net charge would be approximately 0.176 euros/kilowatt-hour or about 61-62 euros per month for 350 kilowatt-hours and 740 euros per year. **The benefit increases** the higher the monthly consumption and will become even more apparent in the next two months, as more large companies create different charging zones, lowering the consumption limit with cheap charging from 500 to 200 or 100 kilowatt-hours.

The price list for consumers

The **average price that eight out of ten consumers will pay for electricity in August** stands at 16.9 cents/kilowatt-hour:

• Absorbing the entire July price increase, **PPC showed a marginal decrease** in the special tariff to 15.1 cents per kilowatt-hour from July’s 15.6 cents, applying a 12.5% discount to the base price. For consumers with dual-zone meters, the price during reduced charging hours drops to 12.786 cents/kWh. PPC announced that in the basic G1/G1N tariff it will maintain the first tier limit at 500 kWh for another two months (although it had announced to its customers that in August it would drop to 200 kilowatt-hours). Additionally, the initial supply price in the first consumption tier decreases from 16 to 14.5 cents/kWh, while an early payment discount is provided through the myPPC service.
• The **second largest market player, Protergia** offers the green tariff (Value Special) at 17.9 cents/kWh from 16.9 cents the previous month, increased by 5.9%.
• **Heron proceeded with charge readjustments**, raising the price to 17.7 cents/kWh from 16.4 in July.
• **NRG announced a marginal increase** in the final price, to 19.9 cents/kWh from 19.55. The company offers one of the most advantageous blue tariffs.
• **Elpedison maintained stable charging** for the first 100 kilowatt-hours, at 17.9 cents/kWh, while proceeding with an increase in the second tier (above 101 kWh) to 23.5 cents/kWh, from 20.11 cents.
• **Volton reduced** by 12% the charge in the special Volton Green tariff from 18.77 to 16.51 cents/kWh.
• **Natural Gas company also proceeded with a reduction** of 11.6% offering a price of 17.423 cents/kWh for August’s green tariff from July’s 19.7 cents.
• **ZENITH proceeded with the largest increase**, by 23.4% in green residential electricity tariffs. For August the price stands at 25.5 cents from 20.6 cents per kilowatt-hour.
• **Elin records the second largest increase**, by 22.8% in the Power On! Home Green tariff, raising the price from 14.2 cents to 17.5 cents/kWh.

The most economical packages

Ten fixed tariffs appear to be available in the market today, with **nominal charges below 10 cents per kilowatt-hour** and another 16 tariffs with charges from 10.6 cents to even… 36 cents. Common denominators are the 9.90 euro monthly fixed charge, the twelve-month contract duration that if broken early incurs additional charges, and the consistency discount with direct debit bank payments.

Some of the **most economical packages**, which have been registered on the RAAEY website, energycost.gr (caution: consumers should do their research on company websites for any changes), are as follows:

• **ELPEDISON Reward Maximum** with 12.90 euro fixed charge, final supply price 0.088 euros and 12-month duration. The consistency discount of 0.132 euros per kilowatt-hour applies for 1+1 year (renewal). The same company launches another similar fixed product from July 9, ELPEDISON Reward Ultra, with 12-month duration, 9.90 euro fixed charge, and final price 0.098 euros after consistency discount of 0.142 euros.
• **nrg fixed on time advanced promo** with 9.90 euro monthly fixed charge, 12-month duration, final supply price 0.088 euros per kilowatt-hour and consistent payments. The final price after consistency discount is 0.088€/kWh for the first 90 days of the contract. For the remaining days of the contract the final price after consistency discount is 0.099€/kWh.
• **ELINOIL Power On! Blue Now 12M+ Residential** with 9.90 euro fixed charge, 12-month duration and 0.0939 euro price under the condition of combined representation of electricity and natural gas supply. The same company offers two other similar products with the same condition, Power On! Blue Now 24M with final supply price 0.0899 euros and 24-month contract and Power On! Blue Now 18M+ Residential with 18-month contract and 0.0919 euros/kilowatt-hour price.
• **HERON BLUE GENEROUS MAX HOME.** The company offers this specific product for 18 months, with 9.90 euro fixed charge and final price 0.0945 euros with consistency discount. The same company also has the BLUE GENEROUS HOME 4 product with 12-month duration, 9.90 euro fixed charge and 0.09845 euro price with consistency discount.
• **Eunice Home EDGE.** The company offers a lower fixed charge of 7 euros/month at 0.098 euros per kilowatt-hour, with consistency discount for 12 months.
• **Protergia Value Secure 12 Months**. The Metlen group company prices its fixed product at 0.099 euros with consistency discount and 9.90 euro fixed charge for 12 months.
• **ZENITH Power Home Secure 3.0**. The company launched this specific package in June with 0.106 euro charge and consistency discount, 12-month duration and 9.90 euro fixed charge.
• **PPC**, the market’s strongest supplier, maintained stable and competitive prices in August. The 12-month myHomeEnter program price stands at 0.145 euros/kWh, while the digital myHomeOnline program is available at 0.142€/kWh. For customers with dual-zone meters, the myHomeEnterTwo program offers a price of 0.095€/kWh during low-charge hours.