Two renewable energy industry associations representing producers have proposed measures estimated to be worth a total of 320 million euros as a means of tackling the deficit of the RES special account, remunerating producers for their output.
The association heads of ESIAPE, the Greek Association of Renewable Energy Source Electricity Producers, and ELETAEN, the Greek Wind Energy Association, agreed to participate in an energy ministry meeting yesterday to discuss the RES special account deficit after keeping a distance prompted by energy minister Costis Hatzidakis’ recent talk of possible producer tariff cuts.
ESIAPE chief Giorgos Peristeris and ELETAEN co-heads Panagiotis Ladakakos and Panagiotis Papastamatiou were joined by officials from three multinationals, Enel, Iberdrola and EDF, all members of the two associations, for yesterday’s meeting.
In recent days, all three companies have indicated that any extraordinary charge on RES producers could spark investor insecurity and force reexaminations of investment plans for the Greek market.
The two sides have agreed to pursue further talks in search of ways to eliminate the RES special account, at 284 million euros.
The meeting’s participants are believed to have pressured Hatzidakis, the energy minister, to acknowledge that the deficit resulted from two factors, last year’s reduction, by the minister, of a RES-supporting ETMEAR surcharge covered by consumers through electricity bills, and the pandemic-induced reduction of the System Marginal Price, or wholesale electricity prices.
ESIAPE estimates the impact of the pandemic on the RES special account to be worth around 100 million euros.
At yesterday’s meeting, the association called for an increase in the percentage of carbon emission rights channeled into the RES special account to 85 percent from 65 percent. Such a revision would inject an additional 100 million euros, annually, into the RES special account.
ESIAPE also requested that an offsetting surcharge covered by suppliers be maintained once the target model is introduced. This measure is estimated to be worth 120 million euros annually.