The energy ministry is preparing a two-pronged attack to counter electricity users deemed as capable but unwilling to pay their power bills, who, as a consequence, have made it a habit to switch suppliers while leaving behind unpaid amounts.
The ministry, according to sources, is preparing a debt-flagging data system whose consumer payment records will be available for all electricity suppliers to see before they sign up new customers.
As a second measure, the ministry plans to cross-examine, through finance ministry data, the financial standings of consumers behind on electricity bill payments. If these consumers are deemed to be high-income earners or owners of sizeable asset portfolios, they will face legal consequences.
Speaking yesterday on local radio SKAI, recently appointed energy minister Theodoros Skylakakis noted: “The fact that the State always has to take care of electricity [prices] does not mean that it does so in the same way for everyone. Someone, for example, with savings of 100,000 euro cannot be treated as vulnerable to energy prices, or in the same way as someone with 200 euros in savings.”
The country’s electricity suppliers have been burdened with an estimated 500 million euros in bad debt over the past year, alone, as a result of the actions of strategic non-payers.
Their ability to avoid payments was greatly assisted by a decision issued by the Council of State, Greece’s supreme administrative court, in 2016. The court annulled a market rule requiring consumers to settle outstanding amounts owed to suppliers before switching.
Strategic non-payers were further assisted approximately a year ago when the government, as part of a package of energy crisis measures, included a revision permitting consumers to switch suppliers without incurring penalties for premature withdrawals from contracts.
RAAEY, the Regulatory Authority for Waste, Energy and Water, in a recent proposal forwarded to the energy ministry, has suggested it establish a law that would permit electricity retailers to order supply cuts for former customers with a certain number of unpaid electricity bills.