The RES special account ended 2021 with a surplus of 300 million euros, greater than had been forecast in the most recent report issued by RES market operator DAPEEP, covering August to October, energypress sources have informed.

The account’s 300 million-euro surplus includes a 70 million-euro safety reserve, meaning the net surplus works out to 230 million euros, still more-than-double the net surplus amount of 101.17 million euros that had been forecast by DAPEEP in its most recent report.

A drastic reduction in amounts owed by energy suppliers to the RES special account was a key factor behind the surplus boost. RES special account debt owed by suppliers, recently totaling 600 million euros, has now been virtually wiped out.

A mechanism has been implemented to trigger and facilitate the transfer of RES special account surplus amounts to the Energy Transition Fund.

The RES special account generates surplus amounts when day-ahead market prices exceed 85 euros per MWh, according to Athanasios Dagoumas, president of RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy.

According to the RAE chief, should wholesale electricity prices remain at the current level of 200 euros per MWh throughout the year, the RES special account’s cash injection into the Energy Transition Fund will amount to approximately one billion euros in 2022.

The Energy Transition Fund is expected to have at its disposal a total of two billion euros for consumer support polices assuming a further one billion euros is received from carbon emission right revenues.