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Page added on April 8, 2013
30,000 Greek Households Lose Electricity Each Month
Since the Greek government enacted the remarkable law that property taxes will be enforced via the electricity providers in the beleaguered country, an incredible 30,000 households per month have seen their power supply cut off. Ekathimerini reports that some 700,000 customers have now had their debts restructured (with payment plans) as part of the billing process; but what is perhaps incredible is that while the State has specifically banned ‘disconnection’ for not paying the property charges, the utility’s computer system is unable to distinguish if payment is for electricity or property tax. There are apparently workarounds involving deposits for tax debts but the situation is set to deteriorate further this year due to the increase in electricity rates and expected further reductions in household incomes.
About 1,000 electricity connections are cut every day in Greece as Public Power Corporation customers are increasingly unable to pay their power bills on time, while accumulated debts to the country’s electricity giant stood at more than 1.3 billion euros at the end of 2012. This is not only due to the economic crisis that has eaten into household incomes, but also to the special property tax paid via power bills.
PPC data show that some 700,000 customers had had their debts rearranged with new payment plans by the end of last year, up from 400,000 at the end of 2011. The situation is set to deteriorate this year due to the increase in PPC rates and expected further reductions in household incomes.
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There is, however, a particular problem with the special property tax. While the Council of State has banned the disconnection of houses for not paying the property charge through the PPC bill, if customers do pay for their electricity, PPC’s software cannot distinguish between payment for the property tax and that for electricity. As a result, the corporation cannot tell whether consumers have paid toward their power bill or just a part of their property tax unless they have paid the full amount.
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PPC says that this problem can be overcome by the taxpayers visiting the tax offices, where they can apply to have their property levy paid separately to the tax authority, which involves the payment of a 50-euro deposit. Afterward, any payment delay will only concern the customer and the tax office, and not PPC.
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11 Comments on "30,000 Greek Households Lose Electricity Each Month"
TIKIMAN on Mon, 8th Apr 2013 1:19 pm
Obama wants the same system in the US.
Prepare people..
ronpatterson on Mon, 8th Apr 2013 1:38 pm
To Tikiman: Obama has never even hinted that he wants such a system as Greece has in the US.
The fact that Obama haters make up such garbage as this tells us a lot about their motives as well as their character.
Arthur on Mon, 8th Apr 2013 2:08 pm
Has nothing to do wit peakoil but everything with reckless spending and debt buildup in the past.
Arthur on Mon, 8th Apr 2013 2:12 pm
I doubt that Obama ‘wants’ this for his citizens as well (after all, these OWS 2.0-ers could morph into dangerous stone throwers), but that does not mean that it can’t happen in the US either if the US government would default.
Oh wait, these stone throwers are going to be called ‘domestic terrorists’ and will be used as a pretext for further erosion of liberties.
DC on Mon, 8th Apr 2013 2:45 pm
Well, the US all-ready has a large underclass that is only get larger over time. And as the creaky US electrical grid can be destroyed\disrupted by terrorist elements, including high winds and rain, I fully expect amerikans to be cut off from electricity more and more even IF they pay there bills on time. As for the ones, that dont or cant, well the US over-class has already defined them as ‘takers’ not ‘maker’s and I am sure they would happily cut off there power as soon they can get away with it.
BillT on Mon, 8th Apr 2013 2:49 pm
Call it what you want, collapse, decline, contraction, etc. We have built a sophisticated, very complicated and fragile world system we call ‘normal’. Someone on the outside looking in would call it suicidal. We have come to the end of the paved road. We are stepping off onto gravel and then mud and then paths and then…
We as humans will either slide quickly into a much much lower lifestyle without cars, tech, electric, the internet, etc.. Or, we will go out with a nuclear bang. Or both.
But, the world will go on. In about 100 million years all of the land mass we know will have returned to the molten core and in maybe 500 million years life will be back in some new form on new continents. Oil may even reform from some animal life not yet imagined. Mother Nature is just wiping the slate of a failed experiment we call homo sapiens. The next world may succeed where we failed.
Kenz300 on Mon, 8th Apr 2013 3:05 pm
The Greek people made a game of not paying their taxes for decades.
People with big homes, yachts, swimming pools and expensive cars reported incomes of taxi drivers.
Tax dodgers need to pay their fair share and not push the burden on everyone else.
GregT on Mon, 8th Apr 2013 4:10 pm
Kenz,
The Greek people have no monopoly on tax evasion.
J-Gav on Mon, 8th Apr 2013 4:55 pm
The article presents a sneak-preview of what will be happening eventually in other (not only) European countries. How soon? Be patient. Close your eyes, click your heels and keep repeating: “There’s no place like home,” then wait and see how far that gets you …
Arthur on Mon, 8th Apr 2013 6:57 pm
Well Greg, maybe no monopoly, but Greeks and Italians are notorious tax dodgers. That’s precisely the reason why the Italians have the highest net worth in Europe, a lot higher than the so-called rich Germans. Reason: the Italians pay lesser taxes and thus have higher net worth, but also higher state debt. Greece hardly has a government worth mentioning. Taxoffice IT-systems? What systems?.lol
But I would take the zerohedge article with a grain of salt. Maybe 30,000 households are shut off from electricity, but most of them will be probably be ‘online’ again the next month.
Hugh Culliton on Mon, 8th Apr 2013 10:06 pm
J-Gav – while you’re clicking your heels, could you grab me another cord of wood on your way in? Thanks! Kunstler notes that gold & silver are perhaps artificially low right now. Expect them to increace as the alternate economy emerges. Until that happens…can you move over a bit so I can get closer to the fire?