Electricity prices are up to 50% lower during off-peak hours in other EU countries where multi-zone tariffs apply. It is the tariffs that the Ministry of the Interior seeks to extend from 2025 in our country as well, in zones beyond the night charge which is already in effect. More precisely, it applies to those who have a night meter and a contract with a supplier that provides a lower charge during off-peak hours.

However, according to an indicative survey in four EU countries (Italy, Great Britain, Spain and Portugal) the final consumer benefit from multi-zone tariffs is not self-evident but depends mainly on whether suppliers increase tariffs during peak hours, as well as on the volume of consumption that the consumer can transfer to off-peak hours when the reduced tariffs are applied invoices.

Indicative:

  • British Gas, Great Britain: The PeakSave Sundays scheme offers half-price energy every Sunday for 5 hours, from 11am. until 4 p.m. without a limit on consumption, while PeakSave Green Flex provides a corresponding discount for 1-2 hours when there is a large production from renewable sources (https://www.britishgas.co.uk/energy/peak-save.html). Economy 7 (https://www.britishgas.co.uk/energy/gas-and-electricity/dimplex-quantum-tariff.html) is for customers with storage heaters priced at 9.9 pence per kilowatt hour from 12.30am. m. to 7.30 am every day and the Electric Vehicle Tariff (https://www.britishgas.co.uk/energy/gas-and-electricity/ev-tariff.html) to charge an electric vehicle at 7.9p per kilowatt hour from 12 midnight until 5 in the morning. “We try to keep the daily price for EV tariffs as close as possible to regular electricity prices, but it is higher,” the company says.
  • Endesa, Iberian Peninsula: The One Luz 3 Periodos tariff (https://www.endesa.com/en/catalog/light/one/tarifa-one-luz-3periodos-en) has three charging zones for energy:

Low Charge Zone 12 -8am weekdays and 24 hours a day weekends and holidays with a price of €0.091271/kWh

Medium fare zone weekdays 8-10am, 2-6pm. and 10-12 p.m. with a price of 0.123047 €/kWh.

Premium zone weekdays 10am-2pm and 6 p.m. – 10 p.m. with a price of 0.183535 €/kWh.

That is, the charge during off-peak hours is 50% lower than during peak hours.

  • ENEL, Italy: (https://www.enel.it/en/offerte/luce/offerte/formidabile-luce-impresa?zoneid=offers-box_offerta) also applies a tri-zone billing system. The first zone (F1) is from Monday to Friday, from 8.00 am. to 7.00 p.m., excluding national holidays. The second (F2) is from Monday to Friday, from 7.00 am. until 8.00 am and from 7.00 p.m. to 11.00 p.m., and on Saturday from 7.00 a.m. to 11.00 p.m., excluding Saturdays which are national holidays. The third zone (F3) is from Monday to Saturday from midnight to 7:00 am. and from 11:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m., all day on Sundays and holidays. The final prices are formed based on the fluctuation of prices on the Stock Exchange during the corresponding hours plus a fixed charge of €0.0396/kWh.

In our country, it is recalled, different charging zones apply only to those consumers who have a “night” meter. However, two suppliers out of the 13 active in the market (PPC and Elin) offer a low tariff during off-peak hours.

PPC’s daily (green) tariff for October is 14.96 cents per kilowatt-hour for the first 500 kilowatt-hours and 16.082 for the following ones, while the charge during the reduced tariff hours for all consumption is 12.062 cents. In PPC’s yellow tariff the charges are respectively 13.852 and 19.066 cents per kilowatt hour (normal charge below and above 500 kilowatt hours of consumption respectively) and 11.665 cents the low charge.

Elin’s blue (fixed) tariff is 14.9 cents per kilowatt hour while the reduced tariff is 13.9 cents.

According to the website of the Regulatory Authority (RAAEF), suppliers Zenith and Solar Energy also had a reduced yellow tariff last month (September)

Therefore, customers who have a night meter are charged the same price per kilowatt hour regardless of the charging zone if the supplier and commercial plan they have chosen does not provide for a lower charging zone.

The aim of the Ministry of the Interior with the changes it is promoting to the low charge hours is to give consumers an incentive to transfer the use of their electrical devices to the hours of low demand when the prices on the Energy Exchange are lower and suppliers will be able to during these periods (provided of course form corresponding commercial products) to offer correspondingly lower prices.

The hours for the reduced (“night”) tariff in effect today are 2-8am. and 4-5 p.m. in winter and 11 pm – 7 am in summer. It is scheduled to be moved between 10 A.M. and 3 p.m. during the summer and longer hours on weekends when prices on the Energy Exchange are lower due to high RES production and/or low demand. In response to the question of whether it is possible for a consumer to take advantage of the cheapest tariff when it is offered after midnight, relevant factors indicate that there are now devices and sockets with timers for programming the start of operation.

The other changes promoted by the Ministry of the Interior in electricity tariffs include the following:

  • First, the “green” tariffs that were legislated at the beginning of the year will remain but will no longer be mandatory for providers. But consumers will be able to choose them, as long as their suppliers apparently still have them.
  • Secondly, the so-called “dynamic” tariffs (orange color) will be introduced, but they are only aimed at those who have “smart” consumption meters with the possibility of applying multiple 24-hour charging zones. That is mainly currently the businesses. Dynamic tariffs will monitor price fluctuations every hour (or even at shorter time intervals) on the Energy Exchange with the opportunities and risks this entails