Energy min. : We have diesel stocks for the needs of six months

Greece has planned interventions to address an emergency that may arise in the energy field and to maintain the country’s adequacy, assured the Minister of Energy, Costas Skrekas, speaking on OPEN TV.

Asked if Greece has prepared a plan to deal with an energy blackout, Mr. Skrekas stressed that “we have a tourist season ahead of us, we are expecting many tourists. We must in every way have ensured adequacy for all this time “.

Referring to the government’s interventions, he stressed: “Next month a new liquefied gas storage tank will be installed, we will double the capacity of Revythousa and we will be able to receive two ships at the same time” while adding that “we will prepare four natural gas units to produce electricity using diesel so that, if necessary, natural gas can be replaced with diesel”.

Six-month diesel stocks

Regarding the country’s diesel reserves, the Minister of Energy pointed out that at the moment they can meet the needs of six months.

“We have diesel reserves in the tanks of the two major refineries in the country, which last for six months in principle,” he said, adding that the government was preparing for an interruption of supplies.

Asked if there is a possibility for the government to take measures to save energy for home use, the minister described it as an “extreme case”.

“In the extreme case, we are talking about interventions in other economic and social sectors. “The government’s goal is not to have to go to shut downs”, Mr. Skrekas underlined.

“We have done everything possible so that we do not have any interruptions in any sector of the country. “Of course we are talking about a war, no one can be in Putin’s mind.”

He stressed, however, that “when a country has a problem with energy supply, neighboring countries are also affected, this is a given.”

The super-profits of energy companies

Regarding the data collected by the Energy Regulatory Authority RAE from the electricity companies and the way in which part of the super-profits will be returned to consumers, Mr. Skrekas said: “RAE is doing its job well. The data it has provided are what we need to determine the super-revenues of companies. RAE has calculated what the super-revenues are, what are the margins in the supply activity, from there will emerge the final amount that will be fair for citizens. There is an amount that has been identified as super-income, it remains to take into account the fixed invoices (to deduct the companies’ discounts) in order to get the final result. “We have announced that this money has been taken into account and will support the retroactive subsidies that we will provide to consumers”, while he clarified that consumers will “see money in their bank account”.