The government is pushing to deliver, as soon as possible, to Brussels its plan for a Capacity Remuneration Mechanism (CRM), a challenging endeavor given the strict stance maintained by the European Commission’s Vice-President Margrethe Vestager during her meeting with energy minister Kostas Skrekas last month.

RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, assisting the government’s effort with swift progress on preliminary procedures, has commissioned consulting firm E3-Modelling, a decision based on its specialized skills, to prepare an implementation plan, required by Brussels, in order to help eliminate regulatory distortions or market failures.

Vestager, at her meeting with minister Kostas Skrekas in May, made clear that Greece will need to incorporate its strategic reserve model – remunerating units made available by electricity producers for grid back-up services – into a wider Capacity Remuneration Mechanism.

The Brussels deputy, also the Commissioner for Competition, has demanded a new grid sufficiency study and the reserve mechanism’s restructuring from scratch, aligned with EU directives.

Besides remunerating power utility PPC facilities for grid back-up services, the mechanism will also need to incorporate a demand response system.

Brussels officials have indicated the Greek plan will need to have a short duration.

The E3-Modelling company’s team includes Pantelis Kapros, Professor of Energy Economics at the National Technical University of Athens, who possesses a high level of expertise in European energy market reforms, as well as other officials with the necessary expertise, to help the authority complete its task within the limited time given by the government.