Dodecanese MP Giannis Pappas backed the Ministry of Environment and Energy’s electricity market bill, arguing that energy security, consumer protection and the needs of Greece’s many inhabited islands must shape national policy.
He highlighted fixed-price electricity contracts lasting at least a year, protection against unilateral changes to contract terms and safeguards against disconnection while certain disputes are resolved, subject to the conditions laid down in law. The bill would allow more households, small businesses and public bodies to share electricity from renewable sources. He also called attention to grid development, storage and the management of market risk.
What smaller islands need
Rhodes and Kos, as major tourist destinations, have different needs from Kasos, Chalki, Tilos, Nisyros and Kastellorizo, he said. Reliable power is essential to businesses and tourism and to sustaining communities on remote islands. The Islands Decarbonisation Fund, with an estimated investment programme of €2.3 billion, could support renewables, storage, interconnections and infrastructure upgrades.
Pappas called for a specific Dodecanese plan drawn up with the South Aegean Region and local councils, clear timetables and genuine access to funding for the smaller islands. A small municipality’s limited technical capacity should not prevent it from using the funds, he said.
Roads and island planning
Citing Article 101 of the Constitution, which requires the state to give islands special consideration, he raised the legal recognition of roads. In many places, particularly outside town plans, no road network existed before 1977. Roads were opened mainly from the 1980s onwards, often by the state itself, including through its military construction service, MOMA. He asked for legislation to cover these roads alongside those already eligible for recognition.
‘Areas with entirely different histories and patterns of development cannot be treated in the same way,’ he said. Islanders should not be penalised for lacking roads at an earlier date when the state subsequently built them to serve their communities.
Pappas also cited the 50% reduction, from 1 January 2027, in the public service obligation charge per unit in the lowest domestic electricity consumption band. Households should share in the benefits of electricity interconnections, he said.
‘From Rhodes to Kastellorizo, people are entitled to security, development and a future. A strong country means a strong economy, a strong society and strong islands,’ he said, confirming his support for the bill.
