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US sees American interests in PPC’s southeast Europe plans

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Greek power utility PPC’s aspirations to establish itself as a key energy market player in the Balkans and southeast Europe is being embraced by US investors who, through such a development, see further potential for interests of their own, given the excellent standing of Greek-US bilateral ties.

Protecting the region’s energy sufficiency from the threat posed by Russia remains a top priority for the US, which also sees potential for American interests in PPC’s plans to penetrate markets in the Balkans and beyond with large quantities of renewable energy.

PPC’s chief executive Giorgos Stassis made note of the power utility’s plans for southeast Europe, and also referred to the wider Three Seas Initiative in an announcement made yesterday following a meeting with Geoffrey Pyatt, US Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources.

The Three Seas Initiative, presently covering 13 countries between the Baltic Sea, Black Sea and Adriatic Sea, aims to attract major investments from the EU and the US in the areas of road and rail transport, economy, energy infrastructure for transmission of renewable energy, fiber optic development and everything needed to launch 5G telecommunication networks.

Greece, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia are all included in the Three Seas Initiative, while Ukraine and Moldova were granted membership rights last September.

Gas trading platform now an established market option

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The country’s gas trading platform has consolidated its place in the Greek energy market since its launch in March, 2022, latest data on the number of participants and trading volumes has shown.

A total of 26 national gas network users are now conducting transactions through the platform, up from 11 when the platform was launched one-and-a-half years ago, while a further three companies are set to complete their respective registration processes and ten more are preparing to begin, energypress sources have informed.

Also, Greek energy exchange officials are currently engaged in talks with a further eight companies that have expressed an interest to participate in the natural gas spot market. This sharp rise has greatly impacted the spot market’s liquidity.

Interest from abroad is also on the rise. At the time of the gas trading platform’s launch, just two companies were based beyond Greece, compared to nine foreign-based companies at present, their headquarters located in Bulgaria, Romania, Luxembourg, and the Czech Republic.

The increased participation has intensified competition, another indicator of the gas trading platform’s robust state.

Wider interest for Greece-to-Germany hydrogen pipeline

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Greek gas grid operator DESFA and operators in Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic are interested in developing a hydrogen pipeline running from Greece to Germany via these countries and intend to sign a Memorandum of Agreement early in the new year, energypress sources have informed.

Though the initial idea emerged in Germany and has been encouraged by the German system operator, it is also compatible with broader plans and initiatives undertaken by DESFA, particularly its staging of a market test for an upgrade of Greece’s national gas transmission system that would also serve future hydrogen transmission needs.

The prospect of a vertical hydrogen corridor has been embraced by all Balkan countries, as highlighted by the results of a work group staged in September and those of ensuing meetings.

The Greek gas grid operator is in constant communication with neighboring operators and operators of the wider European region as it is determined to take on an active role in regional developments, especially ones concerning the construction of a hydrogen network serving the continent, sources noted.

Germany, it is worth noting, is set to become the largest – by far – hydrogen import market in Europe in the coming decades, with plans to buy around 70 percent of the hydrogen needed to meet its targets.

PPC chief to take part in Romanian Three Seas meeting

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Greece aims to bolster its geopolitical influence in the Balkans through energy, power utility PPC’s takeover of Italian group ENEL’s Romanian subsidiary ENEL Romania being a key part of this strategy.

In addition to PPC’s takeover of ENEL Romania, Helleniq Energy recently invested in Romania and had been preceded by Mytilineos – both in renewable energy projects.

PPC’s ENEL Romania takeover has prompted an announcement from Romanian president Klaus Iohannis, who named Greece as a new member of The Three Seas, a diplomatic initiative taken by Romania’s political leadership to bring together EU member states and candidates located between the Baltic, Adriatic and Black Seas for collaboration in the fields of energy, infrastructure and the digital economy.

Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Ukraine are the other members of The Three Seas initiative.

Iohannis, Romania’s president, will host a two-day meeting in Bucharest on September 6 and 7 for talks on collaboration in these domains. Ministers and entrepreneurs representing the aforementioned countries, including PPC’s chief executive officer Giorgos Stassis, energypress sources have informed, will take part at the upcoming Bucharest meeting.

Romania has become a geopolitical focal point as a result of the country’s close proximity to war-entangled Ukraine. In addition, Bucharest has established a pivotal role as a result of its support of Ukraine in the war with Russia and Moldova’s EU membership quest. Romania has also facilitated the movement of grain across its borders.

EU headed for new impasse on gas price cap agreement

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The EU’s energy ministers appear headed towards another deadlock for a gas price cap agreement at an upcoming council meeting on December 13, which will prove a disappointment for Europeans as prices surge again.

Several EU member states seem to be resisting any sort of compromise for the establishment of a gas price cap level ahead of next week’s meeting of energy ministers, a measure now more urgent than ever before as winter temperatures begin to fall.

Gas prices surged yesterday at the Dutch energy exchange, a European benchmark, reaching 160 euros per MWh before easing to 140 euros per MWh and ending the day at 138 euros per MWh.

Though the prospect of high-priced natural gas is alarming, a price cap agreement does not appear to be a priority for a group of EU member states, led by Germany. Berlin, according to sources, wants the issue deferred until a summit of EU leaders, scheduled for next Thursday, two days after the meeting of EU energy ministers.

This, of course, would be a setback as it was at the previous summit, in October, that EU leaders referred the issue to the Energy Council, asking its members to work on details of an agreement reached by the 27 EU leaders.

Germany, joined by the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark, Estonia and Luxembourg, appears to be insisting on gas price cap at the level initially proposed by the European Commission, 275 euros per MWh, well above the 220-euro proposal forwarded by the Czech Republic, currently holding the EU’s rotating presidency.