Members of the civic movement “I Don’t Pay” reconnected electricity to the home of a cancer patient in Chalandri suburb of north Athens. The 65-year-old woman who lives with her family in the apartment had the electricity connection cut due two days ago due to 2,500 euro debt to the Greek Public Power Company (DEH).
The cancer patient lives together with her long-term unemployed daughter and her 13-year-old grandson.
According to Greek media, the family could not afford to pay the €650 the PPC was asking in order to proceed to a debt payment arrangement.
The 40-year-old daughter, of the family called for the civic movement to reconnect the electricity saying that it is impossible that they live without electricity because the cancer patient’s medicine needs to be stored in a refrigerator.
The family had to give granny’s drugs to a neighbor to store in his fridge so that they won’t get spoiled.
Ilias Papadopoulos, from the movement claimed that hat they do is not “illegal as re-connection activates again the PPC electricity consumption counter” and therefore “the family does not steal power.”
PS normally the PPC has special tariffs for vulnerable groups of the society and does not cut electricity to them due to debts. However, the electricity bill needs to be on their name. Something which is not always the case especially when people rent an apartment.
Unfortunately its name-giver – Dario Fo – died a few weeks ago but I’m pretty sure he loved this movement as he was in the five stars movement of his friend Beppo Grillo also