An inaccurate calculation declared as an error by KOSTT combined with the failure of the Energy Regulatory Office (ERO) to identify it, has cost consumers an additional €2.41 for every megawatt consumed in their monthly bills for 2023. According to a report by the National Audit Office, the allowed revenues for KOSTT were approved by ERO without proper verification, after a surplus of €4.3 million was declared in the Renewable Energy Sources Fund, while the actual remaining amount was only €1.2 million.
The failure of the Energy Regulatory Office to effectively oversee KOSTT and the Renewable Energy Sources Fund resulted in consumers paying €2.41 more per megawatt in their monthly bills for 2023.
This is one of several problematic findings in the National Audit Office’s report concerning the management of the Renewable Energy Sources Fund.
The report highlights a case where, due to a lack of regulatory monitoring, incorrect data submitted by KOSTT went unnoticed.
During the 2023 tariff review, KOSTT mistakenly reported a surplus of €4.3 million in the 2022 Fund, even though the actual balance was €1.2 million.
A year later, KOSTT itself requested a correction of the numbers, which had passed undetected by ERO.
Approving revenues without verification caused the Fund to account for €3 million less in tariff income for 2023.
“Such errors directly affect the value of the Fund’s tariff, and consequently impact consumer payments — citizens. The effect of this oversight carried over into 2024, when the correction finally occurred. In other words, the 2022 error was corrected only in 2024, and this happened because ERO failed to critically review the annual tariff application,” the NAO report states.
The report further breaks down the cost burden transferred to consumers:
“In the tariff review report and ERO’s approval decision, no explanations were provided regarding the reasons behind the increase of the RES tariff from €0.73/MWh in 2022 to €3.14/MWh in 2023. As a result, throughout 2023, this increase caused consumers to pay €2.41 more per MWh each month solely for the Fund’s tariff compared to 2022.”
Additionally, the National Audit Office notes that the allowed revenues for 2023 were not realized as planned, causing the Fund to operate with a €5 million deficit — for which no explanations were provided.
For 2023, KOSTT had planned to generate €16.7 million from the tariff, excluding €4.4 million in previous-year adjustments declared as remaining. However, it only generated €12.6 million.
The audit concludes that the Regulator did not request any explanation from KOSTT regarding this issue, relying solely on the annual information submitted during adjustments for the maximum allowed revenues of the enterprise.
