Filenews 12 May 2022
Work is being done to expand the measures taken in the light of fuel price increases, the Minister of Energy, Trade and Industry, Natasha Pilidou, said today.
In her statements on the sidelines of the Famagusta Business Forum and asked about the fuel price increases, Ms. Pilidou said that "the measures are definitely being worked out and expanded".
She added that due to the reduced excise duty on fuel we see that we are one of the lowest states in cost, within the cheapest five in recent months.
"But we've definitely all seen the noticeable difference compared to what we were paying before. Therefore, for all the products that have been affected, whether they concern electricity, fuel, basic necessities, a preliminary work is being carried out and discussions will be held in a meeting with the President of the Republic to see what additional measures can be taken", said Ms. Pilidou.
She pointed out that "certainly with our new bill for the RES-EXE Fund, a reduction of the electricity consumption charge is also promoted, in the tariffs of the EAC, where it will hopefully be reduced with the passage of the law from 0.5 cents per kilowatt-hour to 0.1 cents per kilowatt-hour".
And we will see what other measures can be included in our toolbox, given that unfortunately the war continues, she added.
We see, the Minister continued, that sanctions will continue to be imposed and possibly others will be added. "So surely short-term measures and long-term measures are needed, such as the sponsorship plans that have been recently announced," he said.
Mrs. Pilidou recalled that "there is also a plan for businesses to upgrade buildings, instal photovoltaics, etc., where an amount of up to €300,000 per company is available, and in total the budget is €40 million".
"We hope that businesses will embrace this plan as well as 9 million for local authorities, where there is a significant opportunity for local authorities to help reduce costs for citizens," she said.
She also said there was the water heaters plan announced yesterday, the plan to replace energy-intensive appliances for vulnerable consumers that continues to run, and in the coming weeks our plan for installing photovoltaics and thermal insulation of roofs in homes will come out.
Asked about the importance of the Famagusta Business Forum, she said that "this is the first time that a forum of such great scope is organized in the Famagusta area. I believe that it is very important for Famagusta to highlight the prospects that exist here for business activity and to expand it to other sectors of the economy besides tourism, which is the main activity".
"For this reason, as the Ministry of Commerce, we support this effort and we believe that it has a huge potential", said Ms. Pilidou.
She added that other initiatives will follow under this umbrella, which will help more broadly in strengthening relations between Greece and Cyprus where imports and exports are increasing.
She said that "despite the coronavirus in 2021 we have had an increase in both, and we will definitely try to boost trade between the two countries even more."
