Electricity bills / Fire the adjustable charges for small consumptions

Smaller consumers seem to be hit the hardest by the increase in regulated (non-competitive) charges on electricity bills, which has been particularly felt in the last year, consolidating new price hikes.

Charges on regulated charges, especially charges for transmission and distribution networks, are now revealed in electricity tariffs, as the energy crisis has abated and prices on competitive charges (kilowatt hours), which became the nightmare of consumers two years ago, are smoother levels, but overall the accounts don’t deflate accordingly.

According to the price comparison tool allazorevma, the these increases in regulated fees, which constitute up to 50% of the bill, in contrast to competitive ones, are permanent and unavoidable, while the most recent increase in regulated charges took place in May 2023 and its main cause was the increase in the fixed part of distribution network charges (which increased even more from 1/1/2024). As mentioned, this increase, of the order of 37% for the average consumer, is not only significant, but is strongly oppositely progressive. As he explains, the lower consumption one has, the higher the price of adjustable per kilowatt hour. Specifically, the increase reaches 66% for an annual consumption of 2,500 kilowatt hours, while, on the contrary, for 6,000 kilowatt hours of consumption the increase is only 13%.

If one adds to the regulated a price of 100 euros per megawatt hour for the competitive charge (which is the same for everyone), it appears that the price of electricity for the small consumer is 196 euros and for the large one 161 euros – about 22% higher. This is, as noted, a much larger difference than the difference that existed before 1/5/2023 (it was 158, compared to 154 euros, i.e. only 2.5%).