VERT completed the planned inspection of the company’s regulated activities and found that part of the compensation received by the company from the state budget to reduce electricity prices during the 2022–2023 period exceeded the amount of compensation funds allowed to be received by the company.
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VERT checked ESO’s guaranteed electricity supply activities from July 2022 to June 2023. During the inspection, it was assessed whether partial compensation amounts were correctly applied to household consumers, how much compensation funds the company could receive based on electricity purchase costs, and whether the paid compensations did not exceed the amount allowed to be received by the company.
It was found that in the second half of 2022, ESO actually received compensation from the state budget amounting to 11.36 million EUR, while the maximum allowed compensation amount was 10.65 million EUR. The difference was almost 706 thousand EUR. In the first half of 2023, the difference between the actual and allowed compensation amounts was almost 235 thousand EUR. In total, ESO was ordered to return a little more than 940 thousand EUR to the state budget.
“State compensations were intended to reduce household consumers’ electricity expenses. After checking ESO’s activities, we found that the company received more compensation funds than it was entitled to based on electricity purchase costs. Therefore, more than 940 thousand EUR of the received state budget funds will have to be returned,” says VERT chairman Renatas Pocius.
No cases were found during the inspection where compensation to consumers was applied to the final electricity tariff without reaching the minimum price limit set by legal acts or where a compensation amount higher than the established maximum was applied.
State compensations were intended to reduce household consumers’ electricity expenses, so their application and the use of state budget funds must precisely comply with legal requirements.
VERT consistently monitors the use of compensation funds to ensure the protection of consumers’ interests and transparent use of state funds.
