An ongoing effort by EVIKEN, the Association of Industrial Energy Consumers, calling for natural gas distribution operators to return excess surcharges to industrial consumers has – for the first time since the case’s launch four years ago – been recognized by the European Commission and included in its latest report on the Greek economy.

RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, will reach a decision imminently, within May, according to the Brussels report.

EVIKEN launched its case in June, 2016. Industrial consumers were charged excess gas distribution surcharges for a 16-month period beginning in August, 2015.

EU law was breached by legislation ratified to enable the excess surcharge, upped to 4 euros per MWh, universally, regardless of company profile. This placed major-scale industrial producers under pressure.

A decision on this overcharging case has remained pending since 2016 despite wide recognition of the violation authorities at all levels, from RAE to the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy.

RAE, over an extended period, has needed to respond to rigorous questioning from the DG-Energy on various aspects concerning the matter.

RAE is now expected to calculate the precise excess surcharge amount that needs to be returned by operators to industrial consumers through an offsetting of accounts.

“Our case may have been forgotten if it weren’t for the DG-Energy leadership’s decisive intervention that prompted RAE to overturn all the unsubstantiated legal interpretations by natural gas distribution operators,” noted Antonis Kontoleon, the head official at EVIKEN.