LAGIE, the Electricity Market Operator, has projected a RES special account surplus of 171.52 million euros for the end of 2018 in its latest monthly report factoring in data though August, including the deduction of a 70 million-euro amount for the account’s safety reserve, covering extraordinary costs.

Beyond the operator’s official data, it has already been pointed out that various sector developments following August will end up reducing this end-of-year net surplus to a level of approximately 60 million euros, energypress sources have informed.

A considerable leftover amount will need to be returned to electricity suppliers, who generated the RES special account through a supplier surcharge fed into this account.

As a result, conditions are now appropriate for a further supplier surcharge reduction, in addition to a 35 percent cut already valid retroactively as of April 1, based on a bailout term, as long as a surplus remains following the deduction of the safety-net amount.

The supplier surcharge also needs to be cut by 50 percent in 2019, it has been agreed to in the bailout. Taking this 2019 reduction into account, officials have projected a RES special account surplus of 287 million euros for the end of 2019.