1. Guidance to consumers on choosing an electricity contract
1.1 Suspension of the Adjustment Clause on all electricity products
From August 1, 2022 to July 1, 2023, based on the provisions of article 138 of Law 4951/2022, the application of the price readjustment clause has been suspended in all variable electricity supply tariffs.
This suspension does not mean that electricity products with floating pricing are abolished, i.e. with a price that follows the fluctuations of the wholesale market, but that during the application of the extraordinary regulations the pricing of the products is based on a price determined 10 days before the consumption month (in-advance price determination), in contrast to tariffs that were based on the price readjustment clause and the final price was determined a posteriori, based on the average price of the wholesale market or other cost elements of the wholesale market.
1.2 Advertised Gifts
Some electricity suppliers advertise gifts to consumers. RAE recommends that consumers evaluate the offered gifts before entering into a supply contract.
For example, an offer of 300 euros against future consumption should clearly state at what price it will be applied and at what time it will be given.
1.3 Supplier announcements regarding the lowest market price
Many suppliers advertise that they offer the lowest price in the market. RAE recommends that consumers examine whether this lower price is linked to specific conditions such as for example consistency discounts, parallel selection of a natural gas product, etc.).
The prices published by the Authority on its website refer to prices without conditions.
1.4 Bill Control
Checking and “reading” correctly the consumption bill is a key tool to become active and informed consumer.
Tariffs are divided into three main categories:
(a) Competitive tariffs related to the value of electricity consumed in households or commercial establishments and based on the unit price offered by each supplier,
(b) Regulated tariffs that depend on consumption, but whose unit prices are common to all consumers – by category – regardless of the supplier they have chosen, and which are determined based on legislative provisions and concern tariffs for the Use of Transmission and Distribution Networks, RES Fee (ETMEAR) and the charging of Public Utility Services (YKO), and
(c) Third Party Tariffs (Municipal Taxes, Real Estate Tax etc.) which are not tariffs related to the supply of electricity but are collected through the electricity bill.
The consumption bill is divided into the following two categories:
The actual bill, which results after a metering carried out by DEDDIE and lists the value of the consumption of the entire period up to the last metering, and
on the estimated bill that lists the estimated electricity consumption of the previous month/bimonth and is offset against the final amount of the corresponding actual bill.
Consumers now have the possibility to measure and record the data of their meter on the website/application of their supplier or of DEDDIE, so that their billing is based on real indications and avoid billing based on estimated consumption, the which can create large fluctuations in monthly or bimonthly bills.
2. Consumer empowerment and protection
RAE has developed and continues to develop tools that educate and empower consumers.
2.1 The price comparison tool
The Price Comparison Tool is an online application developed by RAE, which was designed to depict and compare the products offered by suppliers.
Consumers can find RAE’s Price Comparison Tool at the following link: https://www.energycost.gr/
2.2 Publication of Suppliers’ Prices
Following the issuance of Law 4964/2022, RAE publishes, by the 27th day of each month, on its website the fixed tariffs and electricity supply tariffs announced by the electricity suppliers on the 20th day of the month.
Consumers can find the published prices of electricity suppliers, since the first month when the suspension of the price readjustment clause was applied, at the following RAE’s website link: https://www.rae.gr/times-kai-xreoseis/.
2.3 MYRAE complaints tool
RAE has developed an electronic platform for submitting complaints to Electricity and Natural Gas Suppliers and Distribution Network Operators, in order to further ensure its effective supervision over the settlement of consumer requests. MYRAE aims to facilitate consumers in submitting their requests – complaints to their recipients, speeding up the process of receiving an answer or settling them, obtaining data regarding the quality of services provided by Suppliers and Operators, the monitoring by RAE and safeguarding of the rights and compliance with the obligations of both parties and the assessment of the need to take initiatives to amend the framework text.
Consumers can easily and quickly log in to MYRAE either through their existing Facebook and Google accounts or through a simple registration.
Through the platform consumers can easily and quickly submit their request and it is important to attach supporting documents such as their supply contract or bill, in order to better support their request. RAE is automatically informed and monitors the progress of consumer requests, as well as the time and content of the response.
Consumers can submit their requests at the following link: https://my.rae.gr/.
2.4 The calculation of energy costs
RAE has launched an information campaign on Energy Saving aiming to help consumers reduce their cost of electricity, as small changes in daily consumption habits can actually save significant amounts of both energy and money, without affecting the quality of life of consumers at all.
RAE gives advice on energy saving in the use of electrical appliances, while it has developed a special website where consumers can calculate the energy and the cost of using their household electrical appliances on a daily and monthly basis.
Consumers select the household appliances they have with one click √, they insert the usage time of each appliance and choose the kilowatt-hour price offered by their Supplier. In this way, they can calculate an indicative daily and monthly cost of electricity.
For the convenience of consumers, RAE has inserted a number of typical appliances used by the average household, indicative consumption prices and their duration of use, as well as the average Supply price (after government subsidy) of the current month, taking into account each Supplier’s tariffs as announced in RAE website.
Consumers can calculate the monthly cost of their home’s energy at the following link: www.electricitycostcalculator.gr
2.5 RAE’s social media campaign
RAE has launched a campaign on social media. Below you can find some tips to save energy.
