The Minister for the Environment and Energy said this Monday that together with the Energy Services Regulator (ERSE) she will “carefully review” the next steps in the electricity social tariff, aiming to support vulnerable customers without “impacting too much” on others.
“The public consultation on this particular issue has already ended, and I will analyze this issue together with the regulator, with ERSE, and see what impact it will have. […] This is a very important question [porque] we must support vulnerable consumers, but we must also pay attention […] not to have too much of an impact on the price they pay, on the cost of travel, so I will analyze this very carefully,” said Maria da Graça Carvalho.
Speaking to the Portuguese press in Brussels on the occasion of her “debut” as head of trusteeship in the European context, at an informal meeting of EU energy ministers, the minister explained that “there are several options on who can pay for this social support.”
“There are several theories, from other consumers to an increase in the state budget, to energy companies, and so we must analyze, see the balance, see how much it is and see the numbers,” he listed, explaining that the executive branch will now “The test is to whom it will be imputed and who will pay.”
According to the guidelines published on Friday evening by ERSE regarding the new distribution model for the financing of the social electricity tariff and coming into force on April 1, suppliers are free to pass on the costs to the end consumer if they wish.
In a statement during a public consultation on the new model, the ERSE tariff board estimated that the impact on the end consumer could increase bills by 1.13% on the free market and 0.93% on the regulated market.
ERSE estimates that the total need for financing the social electricity tariff in 2024 will be 136.5 million euros, of which about a third (44.4 million euros) will be borne by a large number of electricity generation centers, and the remaining two thirds (92.1 million euro) – 36 suppliers.
To this amount must also be added 14.8 million euros (5.3 million euros for electricity producers and 9.5 million euros for suppliers) covering the period from 18 November to 31 December 2023, since the model is retroactive to the approval of changes by the previous government.
Under the previous model, the costs of the social electricity tariff were shared among the largest producers, but last year the European Commission decided to uphold complaints lodged by the EDP, leading to cost sharing with a wider range of companies.
The social electricity tariff represents a 33.8% discount on regulated market prices for families on lower incomes and was benefited by 758,766 households in March this year, according to the Directorate General of Energy and Geology (DGEG).
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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