Natural gas is
significantly cheaper than oil for heating purposes this winter, according to
the data EPA Attiki presented today. The company, which supplies natural gas to
customers in
Athens
, said that it is now 38% cheaper than heating oil because of two
significant changes that occurred last year.
The first
change was the increased taxation of heating oil by the government, which took
effect in October. But another important development was the different pricing
mechanism chosen by EPA Attiki in May. Up until that point, natural gas was
priced in accordance to oil, but now its price is formulated by DEPA, the
exclusive supplier of natural gas to EPA Attiki. Those two developments lead to
a decrease in the price of natural gas in 2012, which is expected to continue
this year as well.
EPA Attiki
had 20 million euros in profits last year, down from 30 million in 2011 and an
income of 195,5 million euros, down from 212 million in 2011. According to the
general manager of the company, Ch. Balaskas, the reduction was not caused by
the financial crisis, but took place because 2011’s winter was much harsher
than 2012-13’s.
Mr. Balaskas
also mentioned that the private sector owes to EPA Attiki 2,5 million euros in
unpaid bills, while the public sector owes 1,4 million. Both of those sums are
considered small considering the situation in the Greek market.