Following up on a board decision last week to reduce a RES sector-supporting ETMEAR surcharge imposed on electricity bills, RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, has announced the new rates to apply in 2016.

As noted by the authority, the surcharge decrease, as well as transmission and network distribution cost decreases, will result in considerable cost decreases for consumers.

The ETMEAR surcharge for household consumers to apply as of January 1, 2016, will be reduced to 24.87 euros per 1,000 kWh, from 26.30 euros in 2014 and 2015, a 5.4 percent decline. Agricultural consumers will be charged 10.69 euros per 1,000 kWh in 2016, a 6.1 percent reduction, while the new rate for other categories has been set at 28.21 euros per 1,000 kWh, an 8.7 percent drop.

The total ETMEAR surcharge amount required in 2016 has been set at 937 million euros from 1,067 million euros in 2015, a 130 million-euro decline.