Athens, Sep 22 (IANS): Greek consumers who reduce their electricity consumption from October 1 will be rewarded with larger subsidies towards their bills, government officials have announced.

Energy Minister Kostas Skrekas said that in a bid to provide incentives for energy saving, Greece will continue supporting all households and businesses through the energy crisis, with subsidies for electricity covering 70-100 per cent of the extra costs, reports Xinhua news agency.

Regarding consumption of natural gas, the subsidy will cover 50 per cent of rate increases regardless of consumption levels.

Finance Minister Christos Staikouras told Parliament on Wednesday that the state has now allocated 12.4 billion euros to tackle the energy crisis up from 8.5 billion euros initially estimated this June.

Staikouras revealed this information during a discussion on an amendment that sets the subsidy for heating oil for households at 0.20 euros per liter, before VAT, for the coming months.