RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, plans to discuss payment delays by the main power utility PPC towards IPTO, the power grid operator, and HEDNO, the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator, at a board meeting tomorrow, the aim being to take decisions in the immediate future, energypress sources have informed.

These payment delays, determined following a series of hearings held by RAE, summoning PPC, IPTO and HEDNO officials, were meant to be dealt with far sooner, but understaffing problems at the authority slowed down the process.

Various developments that have taken place in the meantime will be taken into account tomorrow.

RAE’s efforts, on the matter, have focused on an accumulation of overdue amounts owed by PPC to the two operators. The utility has attributed these delays to its poor cashflow, stemming from the mass of unpaid electricity bills by consumers.

RES sector officials have criticized PPC for withholding electricity bill sums received from consumers – meant to be relayed to cover a RES-supporting ETMEAR surcharge, a network surcharge and other obligations – in order to service its own corporate needs.

IPTO is also under the RAE spotlight for not having maintained books to keep a record of revenues and expenses influencing Public Service Compensation (YKO) levels paid by consumers to support electricity generation on the non-interconnected islands as well as the Social Residential Tariff (KOT) program.

During the preceding RAE hearings, IPTO blamed a variety of technical issues and problems for its failure to keep YKO-related books.

Also, HEDNO, the electricity operator responsible for the non-interconnected islands, was summoned by RAE, during the hearings, to explain why it has not complied with sector regulations to prevent PPC from taking inappropriate action. Island-based RES producers have criticized PPC for unlawfully ofsetting ETMEAR-related sums and not relaying these to HEDNO, as it should.