Greek parliament to turn off lights to save energy

By Magda Panoutsopoulou

ATHENS (AA) - The Greek parliament is switching off all exterior lights on the building as an example for energy consumption, the House said Tuesday.

The decision was made by parliament’s head Kostas Tasoulas who said all lights in the front and sides of the building will be shut off but security lighting will remain on. He did not say how long the exercise would last.

Also, a program that started in 2019 to reduce energy consumption of the building by up to 36% is almost finished.

The energy upgrade program on heating and cooling systems and low-energy lighting installation in the interior of the House is in its final stage.

And the government, trying to lessen the burden on households because of surging electricity bills, is offering an incentive to reduce electricity consumption through a scaled subsidy program.

Environment and Energy Minister Kostas Skrekas told Mega TV that the government has been subsidizing electricity bills since June. "We will continue to subsidize all bills and all monthly consumptions and all households with one difference: The lower the consumption, the greater subsidy,” he said.

“Even someone with high consumption, if they manage to reduce energy consumption by 15%, they will receive additional subsidy,” he said. “This is feasible since authorities have comparable data with the previous year's consumption.”