Program to replace old household appliances and receive a subsidy for the purchase of new ones

“100 million will be provided to 200,000 households to replace old air conditioners, refrigerators and freezers,” said Kostas Skrekas.

The Minister of Environment and Energy spoke on Saturday morning (5/2) on SKAI, explaining that the implementation of the program will begin in the first half of 2022. “Its total budget is 100 million euros. The main condition for participation in the program is the disposal of old devices,” emphasized Mr. Skrekas.

At the same time, the Minister of Energy confirmed that “as long as the energy crisis lasts, we will support households and businesses.”

Seizure of electrical appliances: what can be replaced

Kostas Skrekas confirmed the corresponding message of iefimerida, stressing that the emphasis will be placed on the rejection of air conditioners and refrigerators.

These devices create the largest consumer loads and put pressure on the country’s electrical system. Refrigerators run constantly, and air conditioners usually turn on at the same time on hot days.

When evaluating applications, both social and income criteria will be applied. At the same time, annual income will be the most important of them, and priority will be given to vulnerable social groups, such as the disabled, single-parent families and large families.

Beneficiary households will be able to replace up to three electrical appliances. The program will cover 200,000 households. In addition, subsidy rates will vary from 30% to 50% per household, depending on annual income.

More than 380,000 energy-hungry devices expected to be replaced

The average energy savings that each household will receive as a result is estimated at 1,000 kWh per year. This means that a household with an average consumption of up to 5,000 kWh per year can achieve energy savings of up to 25%. In cases of higher usage, the percentage can even exceed 40%. Citizens are expected to see a significant reduction in their electricity bills (up to 300 euros per year).

How the process will work – what stakeholders need to know

The application process will be easy and fast (electronically on the appropriate platform). In addition, those who wish will also be able to apply directly at retail stores.

The subsidy will be given to beneficiaries with a discount coupon that will be deducted from the price of new electrical appliances. The information system will automatically evaluate citizens’ applications according to income and social criteria, and classify them according to the appropriate scale of subsidies.

Delivery and installation of new devices will be carried out in parallel with the collection of old ones for recycling. The stages of the process implementation will be automatically controlled by the digital platform.

In case of exhaustion of the planned budget of state funding allocated to the program, it is envisaged to create a list of persons who find themselves in “second positions”, whose participation will be considered if the program is “expanded”.

The new program will also help overcome the climate crisis by cutting 126,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.

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