The Public Service Compensation (YKO) account, funded by electricity bill surcharges used to subsidize high-cost electricity generation on Greece’s non-interconnected islands and offer lower-cost electricity for underprivileged households, is in deficit territory, at 90 million euros, according to most recently available data.

RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, has until the end of the year to inform the energy ministry if an YKO surcharge adjustment will be needed.

This task is particularly delicate for RAE this time around as the Public Service Compensation account is managed by the privatization-bound distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO, a power utility PPC subsidiary.

The energy ministry, it is believed, wants to avoid burdening consumers further with any YKO surcharge hike. However, RAE will need to find a way of eliminating the YKO account deficit before prospective buyers are given access to an DEDDIE/HEDNO data room ahead of the operator’s privatization.

Energy sector authorities also need to deal with a deficit of the RES special account, paying renewable energy producers for their output.

The Public Service Compensation account has been stuck in deficit territory in recent years, forcing authorities to keep imposing an YKO surcharge on consumers.

The account ended with deficits of 36 million euros in 2017, 63 million euros in 2018 and 127 million euros in 2019.

State budget support has often been needed to avoid further YKO surcharge hikes for consumers, the most recent cash injection from the budget provided last July.