Skylakis: There will be partial increases in water tariffs but not horizontal

In assurance that there will be no horizontal increases in its tariffs, the Minister of Environment & Energy, Mr., went on to speak today (16.09.2024) on SKAI television. S.Skylakis was categorical, responding to opposition criticism, that it is not true that all water tariffs from all providers will increase to the inflation threshold. As he explained, the level of inflation only acts as a first “knit” for price increases by providers. At the same time, he said that besides EYDAP and EKATH there are more than 280 companies that have their own pricing. The proposed changes and alignment with the European directive concern the full recovery of costs alone, not profit gain. So far, only the water companies of Athens and Thessaloniki recover their costs. The problem is that about 40-50% of the water averaged is lost by leaks in the networks. This percentage in EYDAP falls to 23% and there are providers with greater losses and the issue of collectability is crucial. However, even if an increase is requested by a provider it will not be implemented unless RAAEF gives its approval. Nevertheless, the Minister admitted that there may be increases, and any pressures for over-costing mainly concern the region as EYDAP and EKATH already have full cost recovery.