Athens and Brussels have agreed on an early-2022 launch for Greece’s Strategic Reserve Mechanism, planned to remunerate power-generating units made available by electricity producers for grid back-up services, but, even so, a considerable amount of work lies ahead.

The European Commission plans to make an official announcement on the Strategic Reserve Mechanism between late November and early December, ahead of the mechanism’s approval by the Directorate-General for Competition.

Authorities in Athens and Brussels are still engaged in talks aiming to finalize the shape of the mechanism, while, at the same time, preparations are in progress for the submission of a new Adequacy Report by power grid operator IPTO, a prerequisite for the approval of Greece’s Market Reform Plan, needed for the new strategic reserve mechanism’s implementation.

At present, Greek officials are preparing responses to a set of second-round questions forwarded by the European Commission. As was the case with the first round, the questioning is extensive. Many of the Brussels questions concern financial details linked to the operation of lignite-fired power stations.

The ongoing Athens-Brussels talks are based on a new draft for the mechanism delivered by the Greek government last May. It includes a proposal for demand-response incorporation into the new strategic reserve mechanism.