A new regulatory framework to limit excessive authorities held by RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, but nevertheless remaining in line with EU law, is being prepared, Production Reconstruction, Environment and Energy Ministry Panagiotis Lafazanis told Greek Parliament earlier today.

“We will submit a new regulatory framework concerning RAE’s authorities, which, of course, will be in line with EU laws. But it will eliminate RAE’s excessive powers, which often serve private interests,” Lafazanis told Parliament.

The minister spoke as an amendment to eliminate an Emission Reduction Tariff (ETMEAR) surcharge hike implemented by RAE was submitted to Parliament.

Lafazanis slammed RAE’s overall role and the authority’s ETMEAR hike which appeared in the government gazette on March 3 after a bill was ratified in Parliament on the final day of last year, in the lead-up to the January 25 snap elections that led to the leftist Syriza-led coalition’s victory.

Lafazanis described the timing of the surcharge hike as “unacceptable”. The previous administration concealed the hike, retroactively imposed as of January 1, the minister remarked.

RAE’s decision to increase the ETMEAR surcharge levied on electricity bills was implemented as part of the authority’s wider effort to eliminate the renewable energy source (RES) special account deficit, a bailout term agreed to by the previous administration that would also contribute to the normalization of energy market conditions in Greece, currently a chain of outstanding debt from one corporate body to the next.