The Greek
Energy Ministry asked RAE, the energy regulator, for one month postponement of
the decision to raise the special renewables levy, in an effort to pass compensating
legislative measures.
The
regulator has decided to raise the levy that all consumers pay as part of their
electricity bills, by more than 98% from March 1st, because of the ever
increasing deficit in the renewables account that LAGIE keeps. The deficit
stands at more than 700 million euros at the moment, after repeated efforts by
the Greek government to keep it steady. Furthermore, the government is obliged
by agreement with the troika to eliminate that deficit by the end of 2014,
hence the need for additional measures concerning tariffs for renewable energy.
According
to the latest information, the government is going to present its decisions in
March and it has decided to retroactively reduce tariffs for photovoltaics by 25%
on average. The producers will also have to agree to losing four months of
payments from LAGIE and in return, they are going to get an elongation of their
contracts and their loans with the banks. The so called "new deal" agreement will be offered in a voluntary basis.
The
reception of those decisions by the renewables market in
Greece
has been mixed. A large part of the
producers believes that it is better to get paid reduced tariffs in time, than
to wait for 6-7 months for their payments by LAGIE, as it happens now. The rest
of them disagree.