herm
06-05-2012, 12:17 AM
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/2/European_Union_Flag.jpg Independent power producers want to be paid (http://www.euractiv.com/energy/energy-meltdown-looms-large-gree-news-513095)
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Honda_Dealership_PV_Panels.jpgReuters - EURACTIV (http://www.euractiv.com) - June 4, 2012
The customers need to pay the bills --Ed.
Greece's debt crisis threatened to turn into an energy crunch, with the power regulator calling an emergency meeting this week to avert a collapse of the country's electricity and natural gas system.
Regulator RAE called the emergency meeting on 1 June after receiving a letter from Greece's natural gas company DEPA, dated 31 May, threatening to cut supplies to electricity producers if they failed to settle their arrears with the company.
Power companies have failed to pay their bills to DEPA because they, in turn, have not been reimbursed by LAGHE, a state-run clearing account for the nation's energy transactions.
In recent months RAE has repeatedly urged the government to shore up the accounts of LAGHE, which is sitting on a deficit of more than €300 million.
The account went into deficit because its receipts have not matched the generous subsidies it pays out to renewable energy producers, particularly for solar panels.
LAGHE's deficit deteriorated earlier this year when two electricity retailers, PPC's biggest rivals, went bust without honoring their obligations to the account, leaving authorities scrambling to find cash.
The easiest way to do this would be to take out a loan of between €300 and €400 million from the state-run Loans and Consignment Fund, which has the cash sitting in a so-called "Green Fund" for environmental purposes.
But the so-called "troika" of Greece's international lenders, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), refuse to approve this move, PPC Chief Executive Arthouros Zervos told Reuters in an interview.... http://www.euractiv.com/energy/energy-meltdown-looms-large-gree-news-513095
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Honda_Dealership_PV_Panels.jpgReuters - EURACTIV (http://www.euractiv.com) - June 4, 2012
The customers need to pay the bills --Ed.
Greece's debt crisis threatened to turn into an energy crunch, with the power regulator calling an emergency meeting this week to avert a collapse of the country's electricity and natural gas system.
Regulator RAE called the emergency meeting on 1 June after receiving a letter from Greece's natural gas company DEPA, dated 31 May, threatening to cut supplies to electricity producers if they failed to settle their arrears with the company.
Power companies have failed to pay their bills to DEPA because they, in turn, have not been reimbursed by LAGHE, a state-run clearing account for the nation's energy transactions.
In recent months RAE has repeatedly urged the government to shore up the accounts of LAGHE, which is sitting on a deficit of more than €300 million.
The account went into deficit because its receipts have not matched the generous subsidies it pays out to renewable energy producers, particularly for solar panels.
LAGHE's deficit deteriorated earlier this year when two electricity retailers, PPC's biggest rivals, went bust without honoring their obligations to the account, leaving authorities scrambling to find cash.
The easiest way to do this would be to take out a loan of between €300 and €400 million from the state-run Loans and Consignment Fund, which has the cash sitting in a so-called "Green Fund" for environmental purposes.
But the so-called "troika" of Greece's international lenders, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), refuse to approve this move, PPC Chief Executive Arthouros Zervos told Reuters in an interview.... http://www.euractiv.com/energy/energy-meltdown-looms-large-gree-news-513095