Lafazanis seeks permission to relaunch old Ptolemaida station

Production Reconstruction, Environment and Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis has forwarded a letter to the European Commission requesting permission to reactivate and prolong the life of Ptolemaida 3, an old power station in Ptolemaida, northern Greece, which suffered minor damages during a fire that broke out last November and devastated an adjacent power station, Ptolemaida 4.

The power station’s relaunch would cover thermal power needs for the city of Ptolemaida, currently barely being covered by two stations in Kardia, a provincial city in the region.

In his letter, Lafazanis requested that Ptolemaida 3 be approved by an EU directive allowing life extensions for certain older power stations.

The fire at the Ptolemaida power facilities disrupted Ptolemaida 3’s operation, depriving the city of Ptolemaida of 50 MWth in thermal energy, prompting a power shortage in the area.

Among the arguments included by Lafazanis in his letter seeking Ptolemaida 3’s relaunch are the heavy winter conditions in northern Greece, the country’s ongoing recession, which has prompted the need to maintain household heating costs as low as possible, and the increased demand for thermal energy.

The estimate of the fire’s damage on Ptolemaida 3 was restricted to between two million and three million euros.