RAE examining fairness of PPC’s print-and-mail surcharge

RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, is examining the fairness of a one-euro surcharge added by the main power utility PPC to electricity bills of consumers opting to continue receiving printed bills through conventional mail, following a recommendation from the Hellenic Consumers Ombudsman.

RAE is believed to have no issues with the surcharge amount, which it considers to be fairly priced, but may be troubled by the swiftness of its implementation as the short gap between the surcharge’s announcement and introduction did not offer consumers sufficient time to decide and possibly switch to one of the electricity market’s alternate independent suppliers.

PPC implemented the surcharge soon after an announcement in early November.

RAE authorities have told energypress a decision on whether PPC’s move constitutes a market violation will be reached in approximately two weeks.

The one-euro surcharge has turned into a considerable cash-generating source for PPC as just 350,000 consumers of 7 million in total have subscribed to the power utility’s e-bill offer, carrying no print-and-mail surcharge, according to data from December 20. PPC currently prints about 40 million electricity bills per year.

 

 

 

PPC customers signing up for ebills in numbers to avoid extra charge

Main power utility PPC customers are signing up for the utility’s ebill offer in considerable numbers to avoid an additional one-euro charge introduced and imposed on conventional printed electricity bills sent through the post.

PPC’s administration expects to have a clear picture early next week on the number of applications submitted, through a full statistical update.

According to sources, tens of thousands of households are submitting PPC’s electronic application form to avoid any new further charges on their electricity costs, even if trivial.

Even so, a considerable percentage of PPC’s 7.2 million customers have not embraced the  ebill offer for a variety of reasons. Some customers do not have internet access, while others are elderly citizens not engaged with any internet activity.

This group of customers sticking to the conventional billing system promises to generate additional revenue for the power utility and cut down on postage-related operating costs. PPC issues some 40 million electricity bills each year.