Consumers paying the price for balancing market turbulence

Low and medium-voltage consumers – households, businesses, small-scale producers and industrial producers – are paying the price for the target model’s persisting market turbulence that has led to higher wholesale prices, especially in the balancing market, nearly three months after the launch of new markets.

Interventions made by authorities have yet to fully resolve issues and offer market stability.

Additional costs have been passed on to consumers despite no official price-hike announcements by electricity suppliers.

In the medium-voltage category, prices have risen to levels of between 67 and 69 euros per MWh from 59 to 61 euros per MWh prior to November’s launch of target model markets, introduced as a step towards harmonizing Greece’s market with EU markets.

The market turbulence has also overwhelmed consumers in the low-voltage category, where prices have risen consistently.

With the exception of the power utility PPC, whose prices have remained steady as the company’s supply contracts do not include wholesale market-related clauses, independent suppliers have passed on their elevated electricity purchasing costs to consumers through higher tariff rates. Most independent suppliers include wholesale market clauses in their supply agreements.

Making matters more troubling and confusing for consumers, independent suppliers each employ different wholesale market clause-activation levels and resulting pricing formulas, meaning it is difficult to tell whether their supply terms are being adhered to or not.

Price hikes by independent suppliers have ranged from 7 to 35 percent, electricity bills sent to energypress by frustrated consumers show.

At present, there is no sign of any price de-escalation. The cost of wholesale electricity in the balancing market has remained on an upward trajectory. Last week (January 18-24), price levels averaged 10.82 euros per MWh, up from 7.77 euros per MWh in the previous week.

The wholesale market clauses of independent suppliers are expected to keep producing price hikes for some time even if possible additional measures by RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, lead to an overall price de-escalation. This is due to a latency between the wholesale clearing procedure and clause activation.