DEPA, the Public Gas Corporation, is considering to ship in a floating LNG tanker to the Revythoussa islet facility, just off Athens, as a means of covering the crucial high-demand winter period between mid-December and mid-February and avoiding a repeat of last year’s energy crisis, the gas company has informed RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy.

This is seen as an effective solution by authorities but it remains unclear who would be responsible for its cost.

RAE has requested a comprehensive business plan from DEPA for this initiative, sources noted.

Determined to live up to its responsibility as an effective monitoring authority, RAE is just as keen to find a solution that would prevent the energy-related concerns experienced last winter.

Fears of a repeat of last year’s European energy crisis this winter have resurfaced as latest developments suggest a maintenance program concerning certain French nuclear power stations could fall behind schedule, while some nuclear units in this country may need to temporarily stop operating.

Concerns have risen in Greece as an extension of the demand response mechanism (interruptability) for the industrial sector, a key tool for controlling consumption levels, has yet to be approved by the European Commission. The mechanism enables major industrial enterprises to be compensated when the TSO (ADMIE/IPTO) requests that they shift their energy usage by lowering or stopping consumption during high-demand peak hours so as to balance the electricity system’s needs.

Also, it remains uncertain whether the new temporary CAT mechanism, compensating electricity production units for output contributing to the grid’s adequacy and stability, will have been implemented by the winter.

RAE is expecting detailed data from DESFA, the natural gas grid operator, assessing the possibility of a gas shortage risk in Greece this winter and the country’s capacity to reinforce infrastructure.