Μake us preferred on Google Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is set to meet with senior economic ministers Wednesday afternoon on fuel and heating oil prices, the latest in a string of similar sessions that have so far produced repeated assurances but no announced measures. Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis, Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis, who also chairs the Eurogroup, and Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou are expected to attend.
Government sources are working to keep expectations low, telling Greek media that no decisions will come out of Wednesday’s meeting and describing it instead as a chance to take stock of gasoline, diesel and heating oil prices, with firmer decisions promised, according to sources, later this month.
A Possible Overhaul of the Heating Allowance
Among the options reportedly on the table is a change to Greece’s heating allowance, a seasonal payment meant to help households cover heating costs. Sources say the government is weighing two approaches: expanding who qualifies for the payment, or increasing the amount paid out, with particular attention to regions that see especially cold winters.
Roughly 1 million households currently qualify for the allowance, which today ranges from €100 to €800, and can reach up to €1,200 in colder parts of the country. Under last year’s income rules, unmarried, widowed or separated applicants qualified with family income up to €16,000. Married couples and civil partners qualified up to €24,000, plus €5,000 for each child. Single parent households qualified up to €29,000, plus €5,000 for each child after the first.
The trouble with this allowance, according to gas station owners and others familiar with the issue, is that a large share of households fall outside those thresholds altogether. A couple with two children earning €40,000 a year, for instance, would not qualify for any allowance and would instead pay full price for heating oil, at rates that are running more than 80 percent above last year’s levels.
A Pump Subsidy as an Alternative
That gap has pushed gas station associations to call on the government to subsidize heating oil directly at the pump, a cost some sources say could ultimately fall on refineries rather than the state budget. Sources say the pump level subsidy is one option under consideration as an alternative to reworking the allowance. Proponents argue it would lower prices for every household rather than only for those who currently qualify for assistance, though the government has not said which approach it prefers or when it might decide. Under that scenario, the existing income criteria and payment amounts for the heating allowance could not change at all.
Heating oil distribution is set to begin on October 15. Officials estimate that if sales started today, the price would be around €1.90 per liter, compared with roughly €1.08 to €1.10 per liter at the same point last year.
Athens Waiting on Brussels
No final decision is expected on Tuesday. According to sources cited by OT.gr, the government wants to see the outcomes of this week’s Eurogroup and Ecofin meetings, scheduled for Friday and Saturday, before committing to a plan, in part to gauge what other EU governments are considering. One official told OT that a possible EU level tax on refinery profits is also under discussion in Brussels, and that Athens is waiting to see which direction the bloc moves.
Pierrakakis, in his Eurogroup capacity, and Deputy Finance Minister Thanos Petralias are expected to use those meetings to assess how much fiscal room Greece has to work with before finalizing any domestic decisions.
One outcome sources describe as close to certain is an extension of the existing diesel fuel subsidy, expected to be announced toward the end of September. Decisions on heating oil support are expected to follow shortly after, with one official noting there is still time before the October 15 start of the heating oil season.
Source: ot.gr
