Industrial sector wants PPC’s older 10% hike scrapped, discounts kept

Industrial energy consumers, currently negotiating new tariffs with power utility PPC, want a ten-percent hike that was imposed in March, 2019 to be scrapped – also retroactively, from the beginning of 2018 – as they contend lower generation costs now enable price cuts.

The industrial sector is also demanding the maintenance of size and consumer profile-based discounts as well as a discount offered by PPC for punctual payments of electricity bills and advance payments.

In its ongoing negotiations with PPC for new tariffs, to come into effect January, 2021, the industrial sector has highlighted that wholesale electricity prices registered a record decline in the first eight-month period of 2020.

The System Marginal Price, or wholesale electricity price, fell to 42.88 euros per MWh in August this year following levels of 61.71 euros per MWh in 2018 and 64.37 euros per MWh in 2019.

CO2 emission rights, which have a neutral effect on energy-intensive industrial producers as a result of offsetting benefits, have averaged 23.83 euros per ton this year, slightly down from 24.87 euros per ton last year.

PPC has drastically reduced its high-cost use of lignite-fired power stations this year to 3,625 GWh, from 10,418 GWh last year.

The power utility appears willing to support the industrial sector by minimizing its profit margin but has made clear it will not sell below cost to any customer.