Gas grid operator DESFA aims to significantly revise slot reservation rules for its LNG terminal on the islet Revythoussa, just off Athens, the operator’s objective being to prevent reservations of expediency made by traders purely interested in protecting their market shares by fending off other users from the facility.

A related proposal of new regulations, already forwarded by DESFA to RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, will instead aim to support use of the LNG facility for actual market needs.

RAE will need to stage a public consultation procedure before the plan is finalized. DESFA hopes it will be ready and implemented by summer, giving companies enough time to assess the new rules for the LNG terminal before they make business plans for 2021.

Recent congestion problems at the Revythoussa LNG terminal left a number of companies without slots for 2020.

Slot reservation applications submitted by companies last year for 2020 represented a total capacity three to four times the size of Greece’s overall annual gas consumption.

Under the new rules, slot reservations are expected to be legally binding, committing applicants to all related costs.

Lawmakers behind the facility’s existing set of rules, shaped nearly a decade ago, viewed LNG as a supplementary fuel, but it has taken on a far more significant role in the Greek energy market over the past few years.