Power grid operator IPTO, seeking to counter delays faced by projects of public interest, has requested special terms from the energy ministry that would ensure swifter environmental permitting and expropriation procedures for grid projects as well as, wherever necessary, permission to use seashore, land and marine areas.

IPTO’s time frames for projects and Greece’s wider energy transition are being jeopardized by obstacles, primarily environmental permitting, forcing the operator to regularly update its delivery dates.

IPTO’s new ten-year development plant, covering 2025 to 2034, includes over 80 projects of various scale. Completion dates for many of these projects have been pushed back by one to two years.

The energy ministry’s leadership promised to examine IPTO’s request for special terms that could accelerate the progress of projects during a meeting between the two sides last week, sources informed.

Electrical grid project delays are becoming increasingly urgent as energy transition goals set for 2030 are just six years away and loftier renewable energy targets are being set.