Power theft bill paid by customers
Public Power Corporation (PPC) customers who pay their electricity bills also pay for power used by those who steal electricity from the network. It is estimated that the cost of stolen power comes to over 100 million euros per year.
Power theft is recorded by the Hellenic Electrical Energy Distribution Network Operator (DEDDIE), as are power losses due to technical reasons. The company subsequently forwards the information to PPC for costing, before the cost is approved by the Regulatory Authority for Energy. The cost is then divided among legitimate customers, who are billed for the total.
The phenomenon of electricity theft has been escalating in the last few years, with figures pointing to the illegal practice having doubled in the last three years, going up by 30 percent last year alone, according to DEDDIE.
