Filenews 9 November 2022 - by Adamos Adamou
The reduction planned at the end for Renewable Energy Sources (RES) and Energy Saving (RE) imposed on EAC's electricity bills was confirmed yesterday in the Energy Committee of the Parliament, with the aim of this to apply from New Year's Day 2023.
The reduction was announced by the Director of Energy of the Ministry of Energy Charalambos Roussos, stating that with regulations that will be forwarded to the Parliament, the fee from 0.5 cents per kilowatt hour today will be reduced to 0.12 cents per kWh from January 1, 2023. The government's intention to reduce the fee that ends up in the RES and ES Fund was recorded during the examination of the Fund's budget.
Consumers, however, should notice little reduction in the price of electricity, if the regulations are promoted in time and approved by the Parliament, as this will be imperceptible, as the fee is already very small and no VAT is charged on it. According to information from "F", this, for an average household, will be limited to just €15 euros per year. For large consumers, however, clearly the reduction will be greater and possibly calculable.
Moreover, it will be added to the measures already in force for partial relief of households from prices, which both in Cyprus and abroad are the main reason for the surge in inflation. As mentioned yesterday, the reduction of the fee for RES and EKE in EAC's accounts was decided, among other things, due to the significant reserve of the RES and ES Fund and was something that opposition parties have been calling for for a long time.
However, on the issue, AKEL MP Costas Costas yesterday expressed concern whether this reduction will become possible with the new year, although he expressed satisfaction with the implementation of the proposal made by AKEL, as he said. He explained specifically that according to the amendment of the legislation passed by the Parliament a few months ago, "the relevant regulations should be submitted to the Parliament, discussed and voted on before the closure of the work of the body due to the presidential elections", adding that the relevant regulations are still in the Legal Service for legislative scrutiny. In his statements, Mr Kostas, like other members of the Commission, also welcomed the fact that the number of vulnerable groups that could be subsidised through the Fund's projects has increased.
Revenue of €40 million and expenditure of €90 million.
According to the budget of the RES and ES Fund, neither the reduction of the fee imposed on EAC's accounts nor its expenses for 2023, which far exceed its revenues, will cause any problem to the Fund, and this is due to its significant reserve amounting to €60 million approximately. Specifically, based on the note on the Fund's budget submitted to the Parliament, its total revenues for 2023 are expected to amount to €40,503,611 (plus an estimated reserve of €60,531,194 at the end of 2022). Of these, €20,701,475 comes from contracts maintained by the Fund with RES producers [based on an estimated cost of purchasing energy from ("avoidance costs") €0.20 per kWh at high voltage] and €5,768,400 comes from the imposition of the fixed consumption fee on the consumed electricity. The total expenses included in the budget for 2023 amount to €90,559,339 with the largest, amounting to €85,456,000, concerning commitments related to Grant Schemes to encourage the use of RES (such as for the installation of photovoltaics) and EEE, of which €50,110,000 concern social welfare benefits (vulnerable population groups).
The more, the better
The significant reserve of the RES and ES Fund, the approximately €13 million that it calculates as revenue for next year through the Recovery and Resilience Plan have also allowed for a significant increase in the Fund's grants. For example, the budget of the existing grant scheme for the installation of photovoltaics and roof thermal insulation in homes, doubled and jumped to € 30 million. At the same time, the sponsorships given under the scheme were increased. Increases that should continue as the benefits are multiple. Not only for households but also for the energy savings target and thus for the implementation of our commitments to the EU.
