Following weeks of negotiations, EVIKEN, the Association of Industrial Energy Consumers, has rejected an economy and development ministry proposal concerning new  industrial consumer terms for electricity supply by the state-controlled main power utility PPC.

The alternate minister of economy and development Stergios Pitsiorlas (photo) proposed extending volume-based electricity discounts as well as punctuality discounts for industrial consumers but incorporated these offers with a 10 percent increase of industrial tariffs.

According to sources, the industrial consumers association made clear it cannot accept a 10 percent electricity tariff hike as it has already been burdened by CO2-related cost increases of 20 percent.

On October 10, Pitsiorlas promised he would deliver an energy cost savings package for industrial consumers within ten days.

This impasse brings the negotiations back to square one. The industrial sector will be hoping RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, eventually looks seriously into charges made by the sector against PPC for discriminatory treatment and be vindicated. At the other end, the government faces the challenge of finding an energy cost solution for industrial enterprises in support of their sustainability.