«Enaon, the company owned by Italian group Italgas that operates natural gas distribution networks, is asking RAAEY to raise the weighted average distribution tariff for household and business customers from €19.86 to €26.89/MWh in 2027, an increase of 35.4%,» Fr. Parasyris of PASOK said in a statement.
«The plan it submitted shows that around 70% of the increase relates neither to network expansion nor to improvements in the services provided. It relates to revenue of €190 million that the company had expected to collect in 2022–2025 but ultimately did not. At the same time, although households and small businesses consume less than 50% of the gas transported, they are being asked to shoulder 93% of the total cost.
Who is responsible for the inaccurate forecasts? And why should consumers have to pay for the company management’s failures?
Responsibility, however, also lies primarily with the New Democracy government. In 2022, it sold state-owned DEPA Infrastructure to Italy’s Italgas, presenting the privatisation as a success.
It thus handed a natural monopoly to a private company without ensuring that its operations would serve the public interest and consumers first and foremost. Serious questions also arise over whether the company’s procurement and project contracts — smart meters being a case in point — ensure meaningful participation and economic benefits for the Greek market and domestic businesses.
Consumers are now seeing the result: the monopoly they cannot switch away from is asking them to foot the bill for its own failures.
We believe RAAEY will fulfil its institutional and regulatory role, protecting consumers from the monopoly’s excessive demands rather than acting as a mere rubber stamp. After all, in its previous decision in 2024, it explicitly stated that the aim was to prevent any «further increase» in future and instead achieve «a reduction in all tariffs».
We are confident that RAAEY will not allow the increase in the guaranteed return on capital (WACC) sought by the company, and will not pass on to citizens the huge €190 million cost arising from management’s inaccurate forecasts.
In any case, we believe it goes without saying that any amounts that may be recognised as due should be spread over a much longer period, so that households and businesses are not disproportionately burdened over the next four years.
In the face of a monopoly, effective regulatory oversight is needed, along with full protection for consumers from unjustified increases».