Who bears the cost of unpaid electricity bills? By the end of 2025, overdue consumer debts to power suppliers had climbed to approximately €2.98 billion, according to the Hellenic Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAAEY)’s Annual Retail Electricity Market Report. The biggest concern isn’t just those who owe money while remaining active customers — it’s those who have left the market altogether. Current customers owe €1.45 billion, a sum typically addressed through payment arrangements. But so-called ‘legacy’ customers — those who switched suppliers or exited the market entirely — leave behind an even larger debt: €1.53 billion, with serious doubts about whether it will ever be recovered.
This burden falls almost entirely on low-voltage consumers — households and small businesses. Unpaid bills don’t vanish; instead, they’re socially redistributed. As a result, a conscientious customer pays, on average, around €8 per year per megawatt-hour — and up to €19.46 per megawatt-hour for vulnerable households. In simple terms: those who pay on time effectively subsidize those who don’t.
The situation has improved slightly compared to 2024, but the underlying structural problem remains. A regulatory framework to curb ‘energy tourism’ — switching suppliers without settling outstanding debts — has yet to be implemented. And it’s precisely these mobile customers who leave behind the largest unpaid balances.
Out-of-Court Settlement Mechanism: Over 5,000 Agreements Still Pending
More than 5,000 out-of-court settlement agreements remain unactivated, as the first installment has not yet been confirmed. Data from June shows 5,150 applications are still pending — up from 4,870 in May — despite prior agreement and completion of negotiations. This highlights a critical bottleneck before any settlement becomes operational: without the first payment, the agreement lacks legal force.
Meanwhile, debtors themselves rejected 20% of proposals in multilateral procedures and 16% in bilateral ones — suggesting that parts of these offers are seen as unsustainable or unacceptable by those expected to repay them. The rise in pending cases within just one month confirms that the gap between approval and final payment is widening.
Protecting the Primary Residence: Selling Other Assets to Save the Home
In parallel efforts to tackle private debt, a new pathway opens to safeguard primary residences — effective from 21 September under the updated out-of-court settlement mechanism. For the first time, debtors may liquidate other assets — such as secondary properties or financial holdings — with proceeds directed exclusively toward debt repayment, thereby shielding their main home from seizure.
This marks a clear departure from blanket asset liquidation. Instead, it prioritizes housing stability for the debtor. The new tool complements existing institutional interventions — including measures in place until 20 July — strengthening the broader framework for responsible debt resolution.