As the temperature is rising, so does the electricity consumption of households, due to increased use of air conditioning. However, the rise in consumption could be followed by the rise in electricity prices.
The bills should increase, not because of the increasing cost of energy, but due to the possible increase of the fee for subsidizing renewable energy sources. According to Nenad Kurtovic from the Consumers Association, with the current level of the RES fee, Croatian energy market operator HROTE loses between 2.5 and 4 million euros on a monthly basis.
HROTE confirmed that in 2020, revenues were by 45 million euros lower than planned. The deficit was covered by accumulated funds from previous years, however, this practice in unsustainable because the number of renewable energy producers continues to increase, while the fee remains the same. The fee for subsidizing electricity production from renewable energy sources is determined by the Government at the proposal of the relevant Ministry. The Ministry said that it closely monitors the situation, however, it expects that HROTE will record increased revenues this year, so there is no reason for increasing the RES fee.
Kurtovic warned that electricity consumption is still hampered by the coronavirus pandemic and it is unrealistic to expect increased revenues. If the deficit is covered by loans taken by HROTE, the situation will only worsen, leading to even higher fees at the end, which will be borne by the Croatian citizens through their electricity bills.
