"screw it up" in Greek

Due to the sharp rise in electricity prices, the Greek authorities were forced to create a plan for the implementation of energy savings for government agencies, which can be briefly called “screw it.”

Electricity bills for public institutions reached 956 million euros by the end of 2021, up from 596 million euros in 2020. In this, they are expected to exceed 1.1 billion euros.

The Greek authorities are seriously concerned about the need to urgently introduce energy savings of 10% per year and at least 30% by 2030. On this occasion, a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers was held, at which the Minister of Environment and Energy Kostas Skrekas, Deputy Minister of Finance Todoris Skilakakis, Minister of the Interior Makis Voridis and Secretary General of Energy Alexandra Sduku spoke.

The speeches are about:

1. Creation of a digital energy monitoring system for 212,000 government buildings.
2. Providing incentives for government agencies (ministries, municipalities, etc.) to achieve goals, as well as disincentives for those who do not achieve goals.
3. Activation of the Electra program in the amount of 640 million euros for the energy modernization of public sector buildings.

Operation “thermostat”

According to what was learned from the announcements, each government agency will appoint an energy manager for each building, which will be responsible for consumption control. A circular will be issued. With the simple steps described by Ms. Sdukow, you can reduce consumption from 15% to 35%.

These are the following recommendations:

1. Don’t waste energy. Civil servants will be asked not to use the air conditioners at the same time as the windows are open. They can take a 10-minute break to turn off the air conditioner and open the windows to air out the room.
2. Turn off cooling and heating for a while in places where there are no employees.
3. At the end of working hours, turn off the lights and air conditioners.
4. Natural ventilation of the building at night.
5. Install shading systems such as blinds and curtains.

Electronic platform

The Deputy Minister of Finance explained how to control energy consumption and provide incentives and restrictions. According to him, the energy consumption of 212,000 meters in public sector buildings will be monitored and recorded through the electronic platform. The person responsible for energy conservation in each institution will also be announced. For example, in municipal buildings there will be an employee of the municipality.

To implement the measures, a support service for authorities will be created

Incentives will be provided to achieve the goals. If the state body achieves the measures and goals, it will receive an additional incentive to reduce energy consumption, otherwise, vice versa. How exactly is not yet clear.

Elektra program

The Electra Program Implementation Guide is posted today on the website of the Ministry of Ecology and Energy. Its budget is 640 million euros and provides assistance from 50% to 80% for the energy modernization of public buildings: the replacement of windows, the installation of solar water heaters and renewable energy systems and energy storage.

PS I wonder how much this program will cost for taxpayers? After all, all these responsible and “watching” should receive an additional payment and salary? Won’t those amounts add up to more than the savings?

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