The government’s electricity price subsidy is “extremely poorly designed”, according to the Green Party’s spokesperson Märta Stenevi.
She says at a press conference that it is not wise for poor pensioners and small business owners in northern Sweden to be left without support – at the same time that northern Sweden accounts for a large part of electricity production and has high electricity prices.
“It’s too deplorable and it’s most reminiscent of old-time colonialism,” says Stenevi.
The Green Party wants to broaden the electricity price support to the whole of Sweden and change its design.
Electricity support several times
Large sums should not go to billionaires or their heating of holiday homes, swimming pools or luxury villas, says spokesperson Per Bolund.
— Those who are rich get even richer. The government should review before future payments how the support can be made more fair, so that it does not go to those who absolutely do not need it, he says.
But how it should be designed, and if it is even possible, is unclear and the MP refers to the expert authorities being allowed to produce such a model.
— Because we will need electricity price support more times, that is quite clear, says Stenevi.
Deferral of the tax
At the same time, the households that are at risk of being disconnected from the electricity grid this winter because they cannot afford to pay their bills will receive a special electricity subsidy, according to the MP. In 2017, the group consisted of 20,000 households, but there are currently no statistics on how big the group is, says Stenevi.
— We want to see special support in addition to the general electricity price support aimed at these households.
Disconnections due to unpaid bills must be temporarily paused.
In addition, the MP wants companies to have the tax deferred until the electricity price subsidy has been paid out.
“We need to do what is necessary to save our companies in this situation,” says Bolund.
In the past, the party has proposed that the state should be able to cover up to 80 percent of the cost of energy efficiency measures, such as improving insulation or sealing windows.
The two mouthpieces also press that the government must make decisions about the offshore wind power projects that are on the government’s table.