Medium-voltage industrial energy costs have risen by 150 million euros per month during the energy crisis and require structural intervention, not temporary measures, Antonis Kontoleon, president of EVIKEN, the Association of Industrial Energy Consumers, has told an online event organized by SVSE, the association of mainland Greece industries, on the impact of the energy crisis on industry.

Industry, in recent times, has faced electricity costs that have quadrupled and natural gas prices five times over normal price level, increasing overall production cost by levels of between 20 and 40 percent, a rise that cannot be passed on to consumers, the EVIKEN president noted.

Producers in Greece are disadvantaged compared to rivals in other parts of Europe as they are not able to purchase energy in advance or adopt hedging polices through long-term contracts in order to secure specific cost levels, Kontoleon stressed.

In other European markets, just 20 percent of energy consumed is traded through energy exchanges and 80 percent stems from contracts established between producers or suppliers and consumers, the EVIKEN head noted.

Greek industry found itself trapped, without tools, in an energy crisis that has highlighted the market’s distortions, he added.