Power grid operator IPTO has retroactively charged electricity suppliers a total amount of approximately 45 million euros for account discrepancies between November, 2019 and April, 2020.

These retroactive charges have annoyed suppliers who have informed the energy ministry’s leadership about the issue and are expecting its intervention for a solution, sources said.

The retroactive charges for each supplier have been calculated in accordance with market shares, meaning power utility PPC, still the dominant retail player, is responsible for the lion’s share of the 45 million-euro amount.

Suppliers and sector associations are preparing to challenge IPTO’s retroactive charges for the six-month period by contending they result from miscalculations that have not factored in RES production, specifically that of roof-mounted solar panels.

The additional retroactive charges are particularly burdensome for medium-voltage traders as profit margins in this sector are extremely narrow and the competition is intense.

The development has caused confusion as financial results for November and December, 2019, two of the six months included in IPTO’s discrepancy calculations, have already been finalized and published.

“Such practices deprive companies of the ability to plan policies and also create business uncertainties in a sector that needs to operate with absolute reliability as it is directly related to millions of consumers,” a top official at one of the independent suppliers told energypress.