Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator

The Environment and Energy Ministry intends to crack down on renewable energy suppliers who exceed their licensed capacity, committing a form of "reverse power theft" by flooding the system with unwanted electricity, the ministry's general secretary, Aristotelis Aivaliotis, told the Renewables & Storage Forum last week. 

The reduced-rate off-peak electricity tariff is to switch to a winter schedule as of Friday, the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator (DEDDIE) announced on Thursday.

Electricity detected as stolen will be charged at double the current market price.

At the same time, those who commit electricity theft will retroactively pay for the stolen energy from the date the theft is considered to have started, while they will also cover the administrative costs for detecting the theft (labor, spare parts etc).

In an interview with Mega TV, Vasilis Kikilias, Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, spoke about the ongoing fire season, noting that while firefighters are still battling fires, they are also dealing with simultaneous floods.

A new rate category for electricity will be introduced within the year that will charge use by businesses in real time, every 15 minutes, affording them the opportunity to reduce their energy costs.

By August 21, the platform for support measures for fire victims in Attica will be open, said Deputy Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, Christos Triantopoulos, on Wednesday morning.

The Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator (DEDDIE) is speeding up the program to place power cables underground, while another agency, the Independent Power Transmission Operator (ADMIE), is implementing a program to connect islands to the national grid.

Anti-soil erosion works are in full progress in areas affected by last summer's forest fires, including West Attica, Parnitha, Evros and the Dodecanese island of Rhodes, the Ministry of the Environment and Energy announced on Monday.

Environment and Energy Minister Theodoros Skylakakis announced the reading of meters for electricity consumption every month for all categories of meters by the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator (DEDDIE) in an interview with Antenna TV on Thursday.

In the effort to tackle power theft, the government has announced that businesses that steal electricity face temporary or permanent shutdown while electricians who make illegal connections will lose their license. It will also crack down on so-called "strategic defaulters," defined as consumers who have changed providers at least twice in a period of five years while having unpaid debts.