ATHENS/PARIS ¨C For Athens restaurant owner Christos Kapetanakis, rent has always been high, but now he faces what he calls ¡°a second rent¡± as soaring electricity bills slash profits and force him to raise prices.
Kapetanakis pays between 3,000 and €3,800 ($3,083-$3,905) a month on power, up 40% since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 and triggered a European energy crisis. Electricity used to amount to 3% of monthly turnover and now it¡¯s more like 15%, he said.
¡°The continuous increase in prices, especially in the tourism sector ... will lead Greece to become less competitive compared to other Mediterranean countries,¡± he said from his restaurant in the historic Plaka neighborhood.
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