RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, is preparing to present, any day now, proposals whose implementation will require the country’s retail electricity suppliers to offer consumers the choice of fixed tariffs as an alternative to flexible tariffs linked to clauses permitting revisions in line with cost shifts.

The authority is making final touches to new electricity supply terms to be forwarded for a public consultation procedure that may begin next week.

RAE was prompted to reach a decision requiring all electricity suppliers to offer fixed tariffs as an electricity-bill option following numerous complaints by customers facing inflated power costs as a result of decisions by retail electricity suppliers to trigger clauses enabling tariff hikes as a means of covering elevated wholesale prices.

This clause, one of numerous agreement terms presented to customers, has caught most consumers by surprise.

According to the RAE plan, consumers will be offered a choice between fixed electricity tariffs,  presumably at relatively higher prices and for a specific period of time, and flexible tariffs, initially lower but carrying fluctuation risk.

Besides increased wholesale prices, suppliers have also faced elevated CO2 emission costs.