The energy ministry’s need to urgently reduce a RES-supporting ETMEAR surcharge – for households – included on electricity bills as a means of partially offsetting imminent tariff hikes at financially pressured power utility PPC has raised questions as to how the measure will affect other consumer groups.

Prior to the PPC-related development, the implementation of a new Brussels-endorsed ETMEAR distribution plan stipulating how this surcharge will be distributed among various consumer groups, has remained pending.

According to the plan, aligned to EU directives and approved by the European Commission, favorable revisions, or ETMEAR reductions, are limited to energy-intensive industrial enterprises.

A single ETMEAR rate was expected to be applied uniformly for all other consumer categories, but certain sub-categories offered favorable surcharge rates until 2014 were expected to possibly benefit from reductions amid a transition period, according to the Brussels-approved plan.

These groups, including medium-voltage consumers, hotels and farmers, expected to cover at least 20 percent of the surcharge, according to the plan, could now end up missing out on surcharge reductions.