Network usage surcharge revisions soon planned by RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, to apply for 2021, are expected to reduce surcharge costs for industrial consumers and, on the contrary,  increase those of households.

Power grid operator IPTO, responding to a RAE request, has forwarded its recommendation on the matter following a related study that examined whether leeway exists to reduce network usage surcharges for high-voltage industries and energy-intensive enterprises of the medium-voltage category – consumers with annual consumption levels exceeding 13 GWh.

The IPTO study concluded that surcharges can be reduced for energy-intensive industries to levels that apply for major-scale consumers in other European countries, including Germany, France and the Netherlands.

IPTO’s guaranteed annual earnings do not change, meaning that a network usage surcharge reduction for industrial consumers will automatically prompt an increase for all other consumer categories, namely medium and low-voltage consumers.

The energy ministry is pursuing a policy aiming to reduce energy costs for the industrial sector.

Network usage costs are also expected to be revised in 2022 as IPTO is preparing a new formula to determine the distribution of surcharge costs based on latest data concerning electricity consumption shares in the high, medium and low-voltage categories. The latest data favors major-scale consumers, sources informed.