THE PRESIDENT REFERRED BACK TO PARLIAMENT THE GIAKOUMIS LAW ON THE COMPENSATION OF SURPLUSES FROM PHOTOVOLTAICS - Filenews 9/4 by Chrysanthos Manoli
President Christodoulidis informed the Parliament yesterday that he is referring back the law passed in March, following a law proposal by DIKO MP Michalis Giakoumis, for compensation by the state, through a decree, of energy surpluses from residential and small commercial photovoltaic systems.
The President of the Republic points out in his letter to the Speaker of the Parliament the reasons why this law should be reviewed by the Parliament, as it contains unconstitutional provisions.
Primarily, Mr. Christodoulides notes that "as clearly stated in paragraph (1) of Article 49 of the law under referral, the Council of Ministers is required to determine, by issuing a decree, a method of compensation for surpluses of electricity produced by renewable energy systems, in the context of a support scheme issued or previously issued.
The law under referral aims to compensate surpluses, instead of clearing them, in a way that does not burden, directly or indirectly, electricity tariffs, is not passed on to final consumers, is not incorporated into the cost of the electricity system and is not recovered through regulated charges. Taking into account the above restrictions set by paragraph (1) of the new article 49 of the Law under Referral", the President emphasizes, "regarding the cost of compensating surpluses, it is concluded that any compensations cannot arise through the mechanisms of the competitive electricity market. Consequently, and despite the fact that there is no express provision for this in the law under referral, the only reasonable interpretation of this provision is that these costs will be covered by the state budget", which is not compatible with the constitution (Article 80).
Elsewhere in the letter, he identifies incompatibility with the case law of the Supreme Court in Article 49(1) of the law under referral, which requires the Council of Ministers to determine a compensation regime for electricity surpluses in the context of a support scheme issued before the entry into force of the Law under referral.
"By including in the scope of this paragraph, a support scheme issued before the entry into force of the Law under Referral, retroactivity is given to the Law under Referral. In relation to the principle of retroactivity, according to the case law of the Supreme Court, the granting of retroactive effect to a legislative act is admissible but not desirable."
The President also notes that the Law under referral "violates the principle of separation of powers, since the legislative power interferes in the exercise of the powers of the executive power and specifically of the Council of Ministers".
