The RES special account deficit is continuing to deepen, prompting the energy ministry to consider imposing an emergency charge on RES producers, whose undermining in any way has been regarded a taboo subject ever since their contracts were breached by tariff cuts through what was coined the new deal in 2014.

A further tariff cut for RES producers would certainly not be endorsed by the European Commission, which has energy ministry officials thinking of an extraordinary charge on producers as a solution.

RES market operator DAPEEP’s recent end-of-year forecast of a RES special account deficit of 224.4 million euros, including a 70 million-euro safety reserve, is a mild projection and will be deeper, energypress sources have informed.

Energy minister Costis Hatzidakis has already excluded any prospect of an increase of the RES-supporting ETMEAR surcharge, covered by consumers through electricity bills. This surcharge was reduced last year when the RES special account was in surplus territory.

Rumors that have leaked from the energy ministry suggest that the deficit will be covered through the application of tools used in the past.

Besides the new deal’s tariff cuts, a supplier surcharge is the other tool that has been adopted to date to combat RES special account deficits.