Greece is tightening the rules governing its competitive electricity market in an effort to curb so-called strategic defaulters, consumers who accumulate unpaid power bills and then repeatedly switch suppliers to avoid settling their debts.
Under a new framework approved by the Ministry of Environment and Energy, electricity customers who receive three flags for overdue debts will be prevented from moving to another supplier until they either repay what they owe or agree to a payment arrangement with their existing provider.
The measure introduces a debt-flagging system to Greece’s retail electricity market for the first time. Suppliers will be able to notify HEDNO, the country’s electricity distribution-network operator, when customers have qualifying overdue balances. Once three such flags have been registered, the customer’s ability to switch suppliers will effectively be frozen until the outstanding debt is addressed.
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The change is aimed at closing a loophole that Greek officials say has contributed to a substantial buildup of unpaid electricity bills and shifted part of the financial burden onto consumers who pay on time. Overdue debts owed to electricity suppliers stood at roughly €3 billion, equivalent to about $3.5 billion, at the end of 2025, according to government figures. Authorities say a significant portion is linked to a practice commonly described in Greece as “energy tourism,” in which customers with unpaid bills move successively from one electricity provider to another, taking advantage of rules that have generally allowed switching despite outstanding obligations.
The phenomenon has become an increasingly contentious issue for Greece’s electricity suppliers. Bad debts ultimately add to the costs and financial risks borne by energy companies and, indirectly, by households and businesses that remain current on their bills. The amendment to Greece’s Electricity Supply Code was signed Thursday by Environment and Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou and Deputy Minister Nikos Tsafos, following approval from the country’s Regulatory Authority for Waste, Energy and Water and an extended public consultation.
The government says the rules are designed to distinguish persistent strategic nonpayment from ordinary financial difficulty. A consumer won’t lose the right to switch suppliers after a single overdue bill. The restriction is triggered only after three debt flags, while customers can regain the ability to change providers by paying their debts or entering into a settlement arrangement.
That distinction is important in a country where energy affordability has remained politically sensitive since the European energy crisis sent household electricity costs sharply higher earlier in the decade. Greek authorities are seeking to reduce suppliers’ exposure to bad debt without broadly undermining consumers’ ability to shop around for cheaper electricity contracts.
The ministry developed the system in cooperation with the energy regulator, HEDNO and electricity suppliers. Officials say the framework is intended to balance consumer mobility - a central feature of a liberalized electricity market - with safeguards against customers repeatedly exploiting that mobility to leave unpaid balances behind.
For suppliers, the new system could reduce a long-running source of credit risk. For customers who consistently pay their bills, the government argues that tighter enforcement should eventually produce a fairer distribution of costs by limiting the losses generated by chronic nonpayment.
