Government to announce €100m package to curb heating oil and diesel prices

The government is expected to announce in the next few days details of emergency support measures aimed at lowering heating oil prices and reducing the cost of diesel at the pump.

According to sources, the package will amount to approximately €100 million. The measures will be rolled out gradually, starting with the continuation of the diesel subsidy in October, funded by both the state and refineries. The current diesel subsidy stands at €0.15 per litre.

Heating oil sales will begin in mid-October. If sales were to start today, the price would exceed €2 per litre, compared with €1.13 per litre at the start of last year’s season. Based on the information currently available, the government plans to introduce a subsidy at the pump and impose a cap on profit margins for fuel distributors and petrol stations, with the aim of bringing the retail price below €1.75 per litre. This was the price of heating oil at the end of April, when sales ceased.

Applications for the heating allowance will open in November. The allowance will be increased this year, with particular attention to households in mountainous areas where temperatures are lower. The benefit is available not only to those who use heating oil, but also to households that use electricity, natural gas, pellets and other forms of heating.

The measures under consideration include:

• Higher subsidies for households in mountainous and northern Greece, where temperatures remain low for longer periods than in southern and island regions.
• A higher advance payment of the heating allowance in December, before Christmas. Each December, the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) disburses an advance payment to eligible recipients. This year, however, the amount will be increased, with the final settlement to be completed once purchase receipts have been submitted.

According to the 2026 budget, the total allocation for the heating allowance stands at €240 million. This amount will be increased further, as the prime minister has made clear. The relevant ministries are expected to announce the details later this week.

Meanwhile, attention is turning to the European Council meeting in Brussels on October 15–16. As the Greek prime minister revealed, he plans to highlight the need for European-level initiatives to address energy costs.

“Even if a government has fiscal reserves, the scale of the problem makes European intervention necessary, and that is something I continue to insist on. If the European Union allows exceptional national measures without counting them towards expenditure limits, we could also consider a temporary reduction in fuel taxes,” he recently said.

According to sources, one “quick” solution would be to extend the energy escape clause beyond investment in the decarbonisation of the economy to include measures aimed at addressing high energy prices.

However, as sources familiar with the matter told Naftemporiki, such a decision would not be easy to reach, given that several member states currently oppose the proposal.

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