The recent Goldman Sachs report on the Public Power Corporation (PPC) reveals in the clearest possible terms what the government has been diligently concealing: there is room for lower electricity bills, notes Mr. Fragiskos Parasiris, head of PASOK’s Energy Committee, in a statement.
As he points out, “The truth is revealed by the PPC’s own presentations to investors. In these, it projected a wholesale price of around or even above 100 euros per megawatt-hour for the coming years—in other words, a market that remains expensive. In its base-case scenario, Goldman Sachs estimates that the wholesale price will fall by 30% in the coming years, but notes that even at these lower prices, PPC can continue its investments and maintain strong profit margins.
And this raises the crucial question: if PPC can withstand lower wholesale prices and remain profitable, why aren’t households, professionals, and small and medium-sized businesses seeing lower bills? And this question does not concern just any company: it concerns DEI, which, while certainly not the only supplier, remains the dominant player, with more than half of all consumers on its customer roster.
The answer lies in the government’s defiant stance. The Greek government is the largest shareholder in DEI, and although it has the power to do so, it shows no interest in ensuring that the company’s strategy includes lower rates among its top priorities. In other words, the consumer’s interests should be placed at the center. Instead, all the government does is cultivate an exaggerated image of success regarding the rescue of DEI, carefully concealing the fact that this was based exclusively on the backs of consumers and on increased rates. And the government chooses to turn a blind eye to the exorbitant executive compensation, bonuses, and free shares, as well as the high costs of communications, advertising, and promotion.
Cheaper production from renewable sources, storage, new investments, and the reduction of oil-fired power plants on the islands thanks to interconnections must finally be factored into the bill and lower it.
Our policy has a clear priority: stable rates, reduced by at least 20%, transparency in profit margins, genuine competition, and passing on the benefits of cheaper electricity generation to households, professionals, small and medium-sized enterprises, and industrial production.
And this proposal is entirely realistic, because it is based on the obvious: when costs fall, so must the bill.
PASOK is not opposed to investment. The country needs renewable energy sources, storage, transmission networks, and energy security. But the green transition cannot be paid for by the many and benefit only the few.
Energy bills can be lowered now. Not someday…”