Charge on power producer gas wipes out Gazprom imports

An extraordinary fee of 10 euros per MWh imposed on natural gas-fueled power stations appears to have been instrumental in virtually wiping out, in January, Russian gas imports, which represented just 0.67 TWh of Greece’s 5.9 TWh total in gas imports for the month.

The extraordinary fee prompted a sharp drop in demand last month for natural gas used by electricity producers operating natural gas-fueled facilities. This fall in demand had begun taking shape in December but took on far greater proportions in January.

LNG imports via the LNG terminal on the islet Revythoussa, just off Athens, represented the lion’s share of orders, reaching 3.9 TWh of January’s 5.9 TWh gas imports tally, or 66 percent.

According to data provided by gas grid operator DESFA, overall natural gas demand in Greece fell by 38 percent last month compared to January, 2022. Electricity producers registered a 42 percent drop in demand for natural gas last month, to 2.1 TWh from 3.66 TWh in the same month a year earlier.