Price developments and consumer choices
Blue (fixed) and yellow (floating) invoices electricity are emerging as the cheapest options for residential consumers in the first half of the year. The ‘green’ tariffs that the majority of consumers remain on are relatively more expensive, without major differences, but have the advantage of providing the consumer with visibility into the price they are paying as each month’s charges are announced in advance on the 1st of each month.
Data on price developments comes from the tariff comparison tool current of the Regulatory Authority (RAAEF) for the period January – June, when the “green” tariff was applied for the first time in order to make a smooth transition to the environment without subsidies that were in force during the energy crisis.
The figures show that with the exception of January when the cheapest tariff was blue, for the next five months the cheapest offers from providers were on the ‘yellow’ tariff. From the same data it also appears that during the first five months electricity prices fell. The main reasons for the decline were the relatively low demand due to the mild winter and normal temperatures that prevailed in the spring, the increased participation of renewable sources in covering the load and the containment of natural gas prices at levels lower than last year, despite the rise that recorded in the last period.
Conditions have changed in the summer as demand increases and thermal units participate more in meeting the load. The average wholesale price of electricity during the first 20 days of June was 97 euros per megawatt hour, compared to 81 euros in May and 60 in April. This means that – unless the picture changes by the end of the month – July’s floating tariffs (green and yellow) will be increased.
As the Minister of Environment and Energy Theodore Skylakakis mentioned, seasonality – due to the high participation of renewable energy sources – will henceforth dominate the electricity system, with higher prices in summer, lower in Autumn and Spring and medium prices in winter depending on the weather. reported to APE BEE.
According to factors in the energy space, consumers could adjust their strategy accordingly:
-Either choosing floating tariffs with lower charges in some months and higher charges in others,
-Either turning to fixed, which during periods of general price declines also decline (eg in April there was a six-month fixed tariff on the market at 8.8 cents per kilowatt hour). Fixed rates protect against increases but do not allow the consumer to benefit from decreases during their term. In addition, unlike the green and yellow tariffs, they contain an early exit clause if the consumer chooses to “break” the contract before it expires.
