Renewable energy covered nearly 70 percent of the country’s electricity demand on April 1, providing a total of 78.98 GWh of 116.8 GWh required for the day.

Just three of the country’s lignite-fired power stations, Kardia IV, Amynteo I and Megalopoli IV needed to contribute on the day, all operating below full capacity.

Of the system’s gas-fueled power stations, the main power utility PPC’s Komotini, and Megalopoli V facilities, as well as two units belonging to independent producers, Enthes, operated by Elpedison, and Korinthos Power, a joint venture run by Protergia and Motor Oil Hellas, needed to deliver on this day, a historic one for the grid given the RES sector’s level of input.

The System Marginal Price (SMP) regisistered at 29.82 euros per MWh and would have dropped to an even lower level had electricity imports been more limited. These reached 21.59 GWh.

The SMP was at 8.8 euros per MWh at 10am, slipped to 7.8 euros per MWh at 3pm and slipped to 3.86 euros per MWh at 6pm before rising to over 60 euros per MWh later in the evening.

The mandatory use of hydropower facilities, prompted by overfilled reservoirs, dropped to 27.52 GWh, well below levels of previous days.

The RES sector’s contribution for the day peaked at 2pm, providing 3,447 MW of 5,568 MW, or 61.9 percent of demand at that given time.