In accordance with the provisions of para. 1, Article 11A, Law 4685/2020, as added by Article 137, Law 4819/2021 (Government Gazette Α’ 129/23.07.2021), a letter of guarantee is required to be submitted to the Regulatory Authority of Energy (the independent regulatory authority of the Hellenic Republic on electricity and gas, as well as the Phase A’ Licensing Body of Article 20, Law 4685/2020) for the issuance of an electricity producer certificate. The forenamed letter of guarantee is a prerequisite for the official and documented completeness of the application for the electricity producer certificate issuance. It may be issued either by credit or financial institutions and insurance corporations legally operating in Greece, or in other Member States of the European Union or the European Economic Area (within the meaning of cases b’ και c’ of para. 1, Article 14, Law 4364/2016 -Government Gazette Α’ 13/05.02.2016), the “Fund of Mechanical Workers of Public Works”, or to be provided via a promissory note of the Hellenic “Deposits and Loans Fund” (hereinafter the above institutions, corporations and/or funds, for the purposes of this opinion, referred to as “Issuer”). 
    
    The Regulatory Authority of Energy requires, inter alia, the following text to be included in the letter of guarantee to be provided by Issuer (para. 2): “We hereby expressly warrant, irrevocably and unconditionally in favor of the Applicant, to pay you, being liable toward you as principal debtors and severally, expressly and unconditionally waiving any objection, right of division and excussion, and of the rights provided for by articles 851-853, 855, 862-864 and 866-868 of the Civil Code, any amount and up to the amount of […] Euros […€], to which solely this obligation is limited, for the timely fulfillment by the Applicant of its obligation to submit a complete request for the licensing of a connection final offer to the network operator in charge […]”. The above irrevocable and unconditional warranty undertaking by Issuer to pay the amount of the letter of guarantee to the Regulatory Authority of Energy in case the Applicant does not fulfill its obligation to submit a complete request for the licensing of a connection final offer to the power network operator, is provided to ensure the Applicant’s timely progress for the licensing process within the period below specified (that is, 36 months). If the Applicant does not fulfill such obligation, Issuer shall pay the respective amounts on Regulatory Authority’s of Energy first request. However, subject to the conditions set out below, the Applicant (but not Issuer) may require the return of the letter of guarantee body before the completion of the application process and, consequently, before the fulfillment of Applicant’s obligations toward the Regulatory Authority of Energy. 
    
    The submission of a complete request for the licensing of a connection final offer to the network operator is defined as a milestone for the return of the letter of guarantee. Such request shall be submitted within the period provided in accordance with the provisions of Articles 12 and 25 of Law 4685/2020 and Articles 26 and 29 of the “Certification Regulation”, where applicable. Regarding photovoltaic parks this period has a term of thirty-six (36) months from the date of issue of the electricity producer certificate. In addition, the above term may be extended for a period of up to twenty-four (24) months, provided that the Applicant states [his/her/its] intention to complete the project, and pays a respective non-refundable fee. The term defined in accordance with the above provisions, which shall also be the duration of the letter of guarantee, must be further extended for an additional period of thirty (30) days, which is considered as a reasonable time for the Regulatory Authority of Energy to carry out the necessary auditing for the existence of any grounds for call (forfeiture) on the letter of guarantee.
    
    Besides the existing different three partite relationship between (a) Regulatory Authority of Energy – Applicant, (b) Regulatory Authority of Energy – Issuer, and (c) Applicant – Issuer, the law itself clearly provides that the letter of guarantee body is returned in the following cases (para. 5, Article 11A, Law 4685/2020):

1. upon timely submission of a complete request for the licensing of a connection final offer to the network operator; in this case Applicant requests the return of the letter of guarantee body since Applicant’s obligations toward the Regulatory Authority of Energy have been fulfilled; 
2. following a request of the electricity producer certificate holder (i.e. Applicant) at any time before the expiration of the closing deadline for the submission to the network operator of a complete application for the licensing of a connection final offer; in such case Applicant requests the return of the letter of guarantee body, however Applicant’s electricity producer certificate automatically ceases to be in force;