Expansion of the excess revenue recovery mechanism in wholesale electricity marketuntil the end of 2023 launches Ministry of Environment and Energy. The corresponding request was sent last week to EUROPEAN UNION. and its pending approval by the Foreign Office will pave the way for an extension of the suspension measure adjustment clause V electricity bills. These are two outstanding government interventions in the electricity market to keep electricity prices down during the energy crisis.

Although the market side is publicly positioning itself in favor of lifting the emergency measures after the crisis subsides, the prevailing opinion in the Foreign Office is that uncertainty remains and a new price increase cannot be ruled out, especially in the summer when gas bottles need to be refilled. The political leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs believes that the new pricing model in the retail market, specifically to extend the validity of the sanitation clause, increases transparency and promotes competition.

However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is optimistic about the position that the Commission will take regarding the request for an extension, which is due to the fact that the Commission has already approved the extension until the end of the year of the mechanism implemented by Spain and Portugal. , the so-called “Iberian” model, which expired in March.

The way will be opened for extending the suspension of the tariff adjustment clause.

As a reminder, from June 1, the ceiling on the wholesale market (that is, a temporary mechanism for compensating producers’ surpluses) will be cancelled. A month later, on July 1, the removal of adjustment clauses from retail invoices is also lifted.

From last July, when the wholesale market’s excess revenue recovery mechanism was implemented, until March 2023, an amount of 3.2 billion euros was contributed to the Energy Transition Fund to finance the subsidization of electricity bills. However, due to price cuts, recoverable amounts were significantly limited.

For example, in March, the revenue received was only 56 million euros, while the corresponding income in August last year reached 878 million euros. However, the de-escalation of wholesale prices has also led to a reduction in retail prices, which, accordingly, has significantly limited the size of subsidies.

The income of the Energy Transition Fund in 2022 was mainly provided by RES. According to DAPEEP Managing Director Ioannis Jarentis, their contribution through the revenue recovery mechanism amounted to 1.783 million euros, and from the surplus of ELAPE (special RES account) – 1.1 billion euros. ELAPE ended 2022 with a total surplus of €307.54 million.