Domestic industries are waiting for the government to fulfill its pledges and take measures to reduce energy costs, increasingly worrying about their competitiveness as they watch the latest developments in Europe.
The shutdown of six aluminium plants by Norsk Hydro have rung the alarm for the Greek industry, which has much higher energy costs than its competitors in Europe.
Measures by other countries, such as France, Germany, Italy and Bulgaria, to reduce energy costs and strengthen their production base are intensifying the pressure on the domestic industry, as the interventions to support it are delayed.
Two weeks ago, Germany subsidized the cost of electricity for heavy industry by capping prices at around 5 cents per kilowatt-hour from 2026 to 2028, in addition to cutting taxes and network charges. Just 24 hours later, amid intense pressure from French industries, Paris announced an ambitious plan to reduce taxes on companies’ and industries’ electricity bills in an effort to lower energy costs and boost competitiveness. The plan calls for a reduction of a special consumption tax on electricity for businesses by 5-7 euros/MWh from 2026. The tax cut is expected to cost the state around €2.8 billion in lost revenue.
In Greece, the government has also committed – through Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the general meeting of the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV) – to a package of measures to reduce energy costs, which domestic industries are expecting with reduced optimism, since the draft budget for 2026 does not provide for any extra funds.
Competent government officials have been writing and rewriting scenarios lately, seeking the golden mean between the maximum possible range of companies that will cover the energy cost reduction measures and the smallest possible fiscal burden.
SEV, on the other hand, estimates the cost for energy-intensive industries at €200 million.
The “Italian model” proposed by SEV seems to remain among the measures being considered by the government, adapted to the reality of the Greek electricity market. However, according to government sources, the finalization of the measures is a matter of days and is proceeding in cooperation with industry representatives.