Energy ministry officials are working on two plans aiming to eliminate the RES special account deficit without any need to increase the RES-supporting ETMEAR surcharge covered by consumers through electricity bills.
The first plan is based on a combination of measures including the imposition of an extraordinary charge, pandemic-related recovery fund support, and an increase in the share of emission right revenues for the RES special account. These measures are based on proposals forwarded by RES sector officials.
A second plan being looked at simultaneously, purely focused on structural measures, is assessing possible tariff cuts for existing projects whose investment costs have been covered, as well as certain categories deemed to have benefited from excessively high tariffs, offering relatively higher IRR yields, since the new deal in 2014, when many investors had their tariffs cut.
Small-scale PV units of up to 500 KW – not participating in RES auctions and given tariffs through administrative decisions – have been included in the calculations.
It remains unclear to what extent the energy ministry will take into account the concerns and proposals of RES market officials for its finalized decision.
The energy ministry knows that a delayed decision will be detrimental for RES sector and its growth prospects as the country aims to decarbonize.
Last Friday, representatives of multinationals operating in Greece’s RES market expressed their concerns to the prime minister’s office following talk of an extraordinary charge on producers. Government officials assured that investors would not be stunned by any rash decisions concerning the RES special account deficit.