The establishment of an Energy Exchange in Greece is currently in the making, the initiative’s objective being to align the country with successful endeavors made in other parts of Europe and also establish the country as an energy hub in southeast Europe, Environment, Energy & Climate Change Minister Yiannis Maniatis stressed today during a speech at the “Energy Commodities Conference, 2014”.

Maniatis noted that export orientation, a geopolitical upgrade, the establishment of a regional market in southeast Europe, functional modernization, price reductions, and transparency in competition all stood as priorities for the country’s energy market at present.

Besides facilitating these developments, the creation of an Energy Exchange will also offer thorough, quality services covering the needs of producers and, primarily, consumers, through tight monitoring that will ensure transparency and fair trade, the minister said.

“The new corporate structure will take on and upgrade activities being performed by LAGIE, the Electricity Market Operator, concerning the wholesale electricity market, and will enrich these through the development of an energy producers market,” Maniatis told the conference. “It will also enable the creation of appropriate payment and settlement mechanisms, potentially through the incorporation of commodity transactions.”

The minister described the Energy Exchange’s creation as a national effort that will require a collective effort from all parties involved. This was already being achieved, Maniatis noted. The Environment, Energy & Climate Change Ministry, the Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE), the Athens Stock Exchange, the Capital Market Committee, LAGIE, suppliers and producers were all working in unison for the Energy Exchange’s development, the minister said.

The initiative’s timing was crucial for the country, the minister remarked, as it coincides with an effort being made to establish Greece as an energy hub amid an extremely competitive international environment.

“The country’s comparative advantages – geographical position, eurozone participation, knowhow, existing and planned bilateral interconnections, and a well-educated workforce – stand as allies in the effort,” Maniatis pointed out.

The Energy Exchange, to offer a platform for a competitive and transparent energy market operating in accordance with the sector’s international environment, will, above all, benefit consumers, the minister underlined.