Filenews 19 March 2023 - by Eleftheria Paizanos
First they will pay their debts for previous electricity consumption and then consumers will be able to conclude a contract with a new electricity supplier. Safeguarding the financial interests of suppliers will be done through the bill submitted on Thursday to the Plenary of the House by the members of the Parliamentary Committee on Energy.
The legislation will prevent phenomena that EAC has already been faced with, as large customers, leaving the Authority to cooperate with a new private supplier, left it with debts. The problem was recently highlighted by "F" in a publication, according to which, large customers of EAC chose a private supplier, in the context of the transitional competition regulation and left the Authority, without paying their debts to it. The problem of unpaid bills by customers who changed supplier had been pointed out to CERA by EAC Procurement, in the context of a public consultation on the right to massively change electricity supplier under concession.
The joint proposal for a law of the Energy Committee was prepared on the initiative of DIKO MP Chryssis Pantelidis. The proposal, which will soon be put under the microscope of the Energy Commission, amends the Electricity Market Regulation Act so that energy consumers have defined obligations before choosing a new supplier.
In particular, customers of electricity suppliers or market participants engaged in aggregation shall be obliged, before concluding an electricity supply contract with a new supplier or market participant, to fulfil all their obligations towards the previous supplier or market participant, including full payment of their debts. At the same time, customers will be obliged to provide the new supplier with proof of full payment of their debts to the previous supplier or market participant.
In addition, CERA will have the power to determine the rules for these obligations and will be responsible for ensuring their proper implementation.
