Greece freezes ‘adjustment clause’ on electricity bills until summer 2023

The “adjustment clause” in electricity bills is frozen until the summer of 2023, according to an amendment presented by the Ministry of Environment and Energy late on Friday in the context of a bill to simplify the licensing of energy suppliers.

According to the amendment, the suspension adjustment clauses will be valid for one year, namely from August 1, 2022 to July 31, 2023.

It should be noted that the suspension of this paragraph is the result of an action new mechanism for intervention in electricity prices, which, as announced, will come into force on 1 July.

The provisions of the amendment are quite complex. However, it appears that the adjustment clause will be put on hold, but in fact any fluctuations during the month are factored into the floating price! This item will exist, we just won’t see it on our electricity bills.

Please note that the government has announced the suspension of the adjustment clause from July, but now the entire project has been postponed a month later. This means that this item will also be on the electricity bills, which will arrive in September.

In addition, “opposition sources sharply criticize the government for allowing energy companies to profit from the clause, which was implemented for the first time since August 5, 2021, that is, for a whole year.

It is worth noting that the Greek courts have yet to decide on legitimacy of the adjustment clause after massive lawsuits by consumer protection organizations and individuals.

Amendment text:

1. “Electricity consumption from August 1, 2022 to July 1, 2023 is not charged for the adjustment item or the corresponding item that is related to the fluctuation in the size of the wholesale market, whether it is the above item or invoices, without a separate indication of this. The validity of the first paragraph may be extended by decision of the Minister of Environment and Energy or expire until July 1, 2023, provided that the temporary mechanism for the return of market revenue the next day is not maintained in accordance with section 12A of law 4425./2016 ( A ‘185).
2. Electricity suppliers must declare monthly in a prominent place on their website by the end of the second month (M-2) before the month of application (M) the fixed payments and the electricity supply fee for strand capacity and energy, applied to the tariffs for supply at a nominal value.
3. All consumers can choose a different type of invoice for the supply of electricity after a statement to the supplier or a request for supply if they do not have a valid supply contract.
4. For the application of this and for the duration of its validity:
   1. Change of supplier or invoice for a supply as a result of a change in the supply fee, according to the relevant announcement in par. 2 is provided free of charge to customers and does not include any entitlement to compensation from the supplier due to early departure.
   2. Article 30 of the Consumer Electricity Code (B ‘832/2013) does not apply with regard to time, the obligation to provide individual information to consumers and the entry into force of a change in the electricity supply contract. Specifically, for the first implementation period, the announcement of the payment for electricity is made until July 10, 2022.
   3. In invoices for electricity consumption, as well as in settlement invoices that are issued after the entry into force of this law, the accruals of the adjustment clause or the corresponding accruals in accordance with par. 1, which relate to the period of consumption until August 1, 2022.
   4. They are recorded in the consumption accounts in a conspicuous place, all commission fees under par. 2, which were announced before the invoice and separately, and at a distance of two centimeters from the entry of the final amount to be paid, with the same size of the symbols used, color and background, the subsidy provided by means of the special account “Energy Transition Fund” par. 3 articles sixty-first of Law 4839/2021 (A ‘181).
   5. In each informational message of suppliers to their customers, electronic or printed, the subsidy provided from the funds of the special account “Energy Transition Fund” par. 3 of Article 61 of Law 4839/2021 next to the final amount to be paid.
5. The Energy Regulatory Authority (ERA) monitors the implementation of this, in particular with regard to pricing, competitive conditions and the smooth operation of markets, as well as the occurrence of abuse. If it detects relevant infringements, it applies the procedures and imposes sanctions Article 36 of Law 4001/2011 (A ‘179). ” —

PS Full text in Greek here. Sorry for the quality of the translation, but this time the authors tried to write the amendment in such a formal language that it is worse for translating only Tsipras’s speech.

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