Temporary green tax to ensure RES viability

THE PARLIAMENT yesterday approved a ‘temporary green tax’, deemed necessary by the government to ensure the short-term viability of the Renewable Energy Sources (RES) fund.

The RES fee, charged to all electricity consumers, will now go up to €0.065 per kWh from €0.005 per kWh.

The increase applies only until the end of December.

The government’s initial intention was to raise the fee to €0.0075 per kWh, but at the plenum the parties voted through an amendment tabled by the Greens’ George Perdikis for a smaller hike.

The RES fund has run into funding difficulties due to hitherto falling fuel prices.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.