Greece pledges new state aid to counter rising power bills

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s prime minister has promised new state support to shield households from rising electricity costs, saying the country was forced to act alone after its European Union partners failed to adopt a joint response to the problem. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis also said Thursday that Greece would partially fund the program by imposing a 90% tax on revenues electricity producers accumulated from the hike in power prices, which he attributed to gas price hikes as a result of the war in Ukraine. He did not provide a cost estimate for the support measures. “On this issue, Europe is showing itself — until now at least — to not live up to the circumstances,” Mitsotakis said.