Greece to double subsidy on energy bills to 840 mln euros in January

ATHENS, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Greece will increase subsidies on energy bills to 840 million euros ($892.08 million) in January to continue supporting households and businesses against soaring energy prices, Energy Minister Kostas Skrekas said on Friday.

The support - double the subsidies allocated in December - will be funded by a windfall tax on power producers and carbon emission rights, Skrekas said.

Greece had earmarked more than 10 billion euros this year to help households and businesses pay their electricity, gas and heating fuel bills which have jumped following a spike in energy prices in the wake of the war in Ukraine.

For customers using up to 500 kilowatt hours of electricity per month - which accounts for about 90% of Greek households - the subsidy will reach 330 euros per megawatt hour, absorbing up to 87% of the increase, Skrekas said.

About 700,000 households that use gas will also get a monthly 20 euro subsidy per megawatt hour. ($1 = 0.9416 euros) (Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Jane Merriman)