Low-voltage electricity tariffs offered by independent suppliers for households and businesses are as much as 27 percent lower than those of power utility PPC, according to a study conducted by RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, following the utility’s recent pricing policy adjustments.
The RAE study compared the low-voltage tariff rates offered by PPC and 16 independent suppliers in the 0-2,000 KWh consumption category over a four-month period.
PPC’s tariff rate in September was 89.89 euros per MWh, while the lowest rate in the market was 72.80 euros per MWh, according to the RAE study.
The majority of independent suppliers offered tariffs between 81.45 and 81.90 euros per MWh, the study found.
It also highlighted the difficulties in reducing PPC’s retail market share, consumer apprehension for switches to other suppliers listed among the key factors.
Though Greece’s electricity market was liberalized back in 2008, PPC maintains a 73.52 percent share of total consumption in the low and mid-voltage categories and 88.25 percent overall.
A total of 25 independent suppliers have emerged over the past 11 years but consumer mobility has remained low.
Just 3.35 percent, or 226,779 of the country’s 6.76 million low and mid-voltage consumers (not including the islands) switched electricity suppliers in the first half of 2019, according to the RAE study.
Its results were presented at the 84th Thessaloniki International Fair by Evaggelia Gotzou, director of RAE’s consumer, environment and retail markets protection department.