Easy come, easy go

Few people know that residents in areas where renewable energy stations have been installed receive a discount on their electricity bills. It's not a lot of money, but it's a fair reward from the power companies for any nuisance they cause with their projects.

The system worked well, until the Environment Ministry's busybodyism decided this summer to "reform" it. Until August, the discount was proportional to consumption. Thus, while the discount rate was the same for everyone, permanent residents who actually use more electricity benefited more than those who, for example, opened their holiday home for 15 days.

Surprisingly, Minister of Environment and Energy Theodoros Skylakakis and his deputy Alexandra Sdoukou did not like the specific apportionment and decided to implement a new Procrustean rule. According to a question tabled in Parliament by SYRIZA MP Kalliopi...