Greece’s Hellenic Confederation of Professionals, Craftsmen, and Merchants (GSEVEE), a major trade group, on Friday issued an announcement bemoaning the recent surge in power prices in the country.

The trade group said SMEs in Greece are facing significant increases in electricity charges due to higher wholesale rates incurred by power suppliers.
GSEVEE blamed hikes for CO2 emission rights, higher natural gas prices and a surge in electricity demand over the past two months due to heat waves in Greece.

The trade group said power suppliers are passing on the hikes to consumers, with businesses and households receiving higher bills of late.

At the end of the announcement, the group states that “… we call on the government through the relevant ministries and authorities to take measures to put a brake on excessive increases, and not to remain a spectator in a role of Pontius Pilate in the rally of prices hikes, which lead to the death of an already ‘great patient’ of the pandemic, which is none other than SMEs.”