PPC announces savings offer for punctual consumers

Approximately 2.5 million of PPC’s 5.5 million household consumers paying their electricity bills on time are expected to benefit from favorable terms announced yesterday by the power utility to reward punctuality as a means of reducing the corporation’s increased sum of unpaid overdue bills, now at about two billion euros.

Consumers who meet all their electicity bill deadlines for 2015 will, throughout 2016, be spared of double the value of fixed surcharges normally imposed on their bills, PPC announced.

PPC noted the discount comes as a first step, implying that more offers may be in store. The measure may also apply in 2017, but this was not specified.

In practical terms, consumers with regular single-phase connections will save about nine euros per year. The surcharge applied to this category for four-month billing periods is 1.52 euros.

The savings reach 21 euros for the year if single-phase connections are also equipped with late-night tariff arrangements, whose surcharge is 3.52 euros per four-month billing period.

Consumers with three-phase connections – offering greater capacity and common for professional purposes – will save about 29 euros per year. The surcharge for this category is 4.80 euros per four-month billing period.

As for consumers with three-phase connections and late-night tariff arrangements, they can expect to save 41 euros, annually, as the category’s surcharge is 6.80 euros per four-month billing period.

Assuming that PPC’s 2.5 punctual consumers continue paying their electricity bills on time, the total savings will amount to 30 million euros in 2016.

Although representing a step in a favorable direction for punctual consumers, the measure cannot be regarded as a  generous across-the-board offer. Tariffs remain unchanged.

PPC also announced improved terms for businesses and professionals. These offers will benefit between 110,000 and 120,000 professionals – shops, workshops, small-scale industry, and office buildings  – as well as 10,000 large enterprises.

The PPC offer aims to prevent consumers from transferring to rival electricity suppliers. As part of the effort, PPC will offer tailor-made packages, featuring reduced tariffs, to corporate chains and businesses being supplied by at least 100 power line connections. The annual total savings from this measure alone are expected to amount to 80 million euros.