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This “allows the financing of approximately 50% of public expenditure linked to tariff shields and shock absorbers”, indicated the CRE in a press release.
The volatility of energy prices continues to impact, upwards or downwards, the State budget. For 2023, renewable energy producers should pay 13.7 billion euros in revenue to the State, said Wednesday the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE), on the occasion of the publication of the assessment of “energy utility charges” for this year.
This payment is explained by a very specific support mechanism for the renewables sector: the State guarantees a certain level of electricity purchase price to renewable energy producers, which protects the profitability of their investment. On the other hand, if the market price exceeds this guaranteed price level, these same producers pay the difference to the State. And this is precisely the case today, given the surge in electricity prices.
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Reduction of the price shield bill
This manna makes it possible to partially reduce the bill for the tariff shields put in place by the government to protect households and businesses from this same surge in energy prices. The 13.7 billion thus allow “the financing of approximately 50% of public expenditure related to tariff shields and shock absorbers“, indicates the CRE. The energy market regulator assesses these “exceptional consumer protection measures at 28.5 billion eurosfor the year 2023.
The volatility of energy prices, however, changes both revenue and projected expenses very quickly. “Reduction of tariff shields”, explains the CRE. This was carried out in November 2022. And the sharp drop in expected revenue is explained by the fall in energy prices since that date.