gas networks

Guaranteed revenues for operators ‘must not breed complacency’

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Operators must not become complacent as a result of their guaranteed revenues but, instead, strive to keep improving their services, RAE (Regulatory Authority for Energy) chief executive Thanassis Dagoumas has stressed.

High yields secured by electricity and gas market operators active in Greece’s transmission and distribution networks are breeding complacency and prompting these companies to skip crucial investments needed for upgraded consumer services, the RAE chief has suggested.

The regulatory frameworks these operators are subject to, offering natural monopolies, result in considerable advantages compared to other sectors of the economy, Dagoumas noted.

It must be widely accepted, as a matter of principle, that perpetually high profit margins resulting from activities free of competition, without improved services in return, is not reasonable, the RAE chief noted.

Fair competition is a fundamental component of the EU itself, Dagoumas pointed out.

RAE plans to implement incentives for all operators, not just the electricity distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO, and the gas distributors DEDA, EDA Attiki and EDA THESS, as is the case at present, Dagoumas disclosed.

DEDA, EDA Attiki and EDA THESS have been offered extra WACC returns for meeting gas penetration objectives and reducing overall distribution costs for consumers.

Tenders for west Greece gas networks expected next month

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Gas distributor DEDA is preparing to launch tenders next month for the construction of distribution networks covering the provincial cities of Patras, Pyrgos and Agrinio, all in the country’s west.

Approval of a technical bulletin by regional authorities in western Greece is now all that remains pending before these tenders can be launched.

Development of the distribution networks for all three cities is scheduled to commence in September or October.

Projects in Greece’s western region are co-funded by the EU’s National Strategic Reference Fund (NSRF) for 2014 to 2020, meaning the aforementioned networks will need to be completed by December, 2023, when this funding program expires.

These networks, promising to introduce natural gas to western Greece, are planned to cover a distance of 208 kilometers. The network in the wider Patras area will consist of a 120-km network, 72 km will concern Agrinio, while the Pyrgos system will total 16 km.

Once launched, at least 10,300 households, 560 businesses and 23 industrial consumers are forecast to connect with the three networks within a five-year period.

The majority of these consumers are in Patras, Greece’s third most populous city, expected to number at least 6,670 households, 218 businesses and 20 industrial consumers by 2025.

Households in western Greece are seen reaching gas consumption levels of 73,940 MWh, businesses are forecast to consume 36,307 MWh and industrial consumers 111,757 MWh.

DEDA, Hengas vying for Peloponnese network projects

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A decision by RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, to approve gas distributor DEDA’s development plan covering 2021 to 2025 further complicates matters for gas network development projects in four provincial cities of the Peloponnese as two companies are now vying for the same projects.

Hengas, a successor to the firm Edil seeking to develop and operate the gas networks of the same four cities, Argos, Nafplio, Sparti and Kalamata, has applied for a gas distribution license covering these locations.

RAE, which reached its decision to approve gas distributor DEDA’s development plan covering 2021 to 2025 on December 17, published the decision yesterday, noting requirements have been met for a re-inclusion of the four cities in DEDA’s development plan. This re-inclusion could restore DEDA’s rights for the four cities, according to the authority.

The authority had removed the entire Peloponnese region from DEDA’s five-year development plan a year earlier as related time limits were exceeded.

Following this removal, RAE approved distribution license applications submitted by Hengas for two other cities of the Peloponnese, Korinthos and Tripoli, both previously represented by DEDA.

RAE must now decide on how it will grant gas distribution licenses for the four cities in question.

RES spatial plan to be delivered within 2021, Action Plan notes

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The completion of a RES sector spatial plan within the current year has been included in an energy ministry Action Plan for 2021, just published along with the respective action plans of all other ministries.

The energy ministry’s action plan lists interventions planned for 2021 in nine areas under its authority, including energy-sector privatizations, energy market reforms, support for decarbonization and recycling, adoption of circular economic principles, greenhouse gas emission reduction, the tackling of climate change effects, as well as green energy transition.

RES sector measures this year will help cut down the time needed by new RES projects for licensing procedures to two years, the ministry anticipates in its action plan.

It also expects the installation, by the end of the year, of at least 2,000 recharging units for electric vehicles in public areas, including along highways, and at private properties, including domestic and commercial.

On the privatization front, the energy ministry expects all seven energy privatization plans to have been completed or reached an advanced stage by the end of the year.

On energy market reforms, the adoption of a remuneration mechanism for grid sufficiency, to replace a transitional mechanism remunerating flexibility, is a standout feature.

The energy ministry also intends to adopt, as Greek law, an EU directive promoting energy storage and demand response systems.

The ministry’s action plan also anticipates the signing of agreements this year for distribution network development and RES penetration support. It also expects DEDDIE/HEDNO, the distribution network operator, to announce a tender for the installation of smart power meters within the current year.

Taking into account plans by DEDDIE/HEDNO and power grid operator IPTO, the ministry expects investments in distribution and transmission networks to reach one billion euros this year.

Investments for gas network upgrades and expansion are expected to reach at least 300 million euros, primarily driven by projects planned by gas distributor DEDA, covering all areas around the country except for the wider Athens, Thessaloniki and Thessaly areas.

On international projects, the action plan notes that a Greek-Bulgarian gas pipeline project, the IGB, promising to significantly diversify Greece’s gas sources, will be completed by the end of 2021.

A latest edition of the Saving at Home program subsidizing energy efficiency upgrades of properties, budgeted at one billion euros, will stimulate work on 80,000 buildings in 2021, according the energy ministry’s action plan.

This activity will contribute to a National Energy and Climate Plan objective for an improvement, by 2030, of energy efficiency at buildings by 38 percent, reducing energy consumption to levels below those registered in 2007, the action plan notes.

 

DESFA focusing on gas pipeline for west Macedonia network

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Gas grid operator DESFA and energy ministry officials are currently discussing financing options that could be sought for the operator’s plan to develop a gas pipeline needed to facilitate a gas network expansion in northern Greece’s west Macedonia region, energypress sources have informed.

DESFA is awaiting approval by RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, for its ten-year development plan, worth more than 545 million euros, including the gas pipeline project.

The talks between DESFA and the energy ministry officials are focused on public funding possibilities, primarily European, to cover part of the cost of the gas pipeline, which would ultimately help contain the level of network usage tariffs to be covered by consumers.

Local officials anticipate this network expansion plan should qualify for EU development fund support, even though EU policy generally does not favor gas projects, as it clearly represents a development project that promises multiple regional benefits, including replacement of lignite-based energy, on the way out as a result of the country’s decarbonization strategy.

Besides the EU recovery fund, officials in Greece are also considering the prospects of financial support from the EU’s National Strategic Reference Framework or a number of regional development programs.

The gas network expansion plan in the country’s west Macedonia region will require the development of a 130-km gas pipeline from Trikala, in the mainland’s mid-north, a project budgeted at 110 million euros.

According to sources, DESFA has revised an original pipeline route plan, bringing the pipeline closer to cities where medium and low-pressure networks for households and businesses are to be developed by gas distributor DEDA.

DEDA appeals Peloponnese gas network plan exclusion

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Gas distributor DEDA’s effort for a reversal of decision removing the Peloponnese from the company’s gas network development plan has been rejected by RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy.

In response, DEDA, a subsidiary of gas utility DEPA distributing to areas in Greece not covered by the group’s other distributors, has already taken its case to an appeals court.

RAE has granted gas distribution licenses for three Peloponnesian cities, Tripoli, Korinthos and Megalopoli, to Hengas, a successor of the firm Edil.

The Peloponnese was excluded by RAE from DEDA’s five-year network development plan covering 2020 to 2024 as time limits were exceeded, according to the authority.

RAE, however, has approved DEDA’s five-year development plan for 2021 to 2025, outlining the distributor’s development plan for natural gas networks in 34 provincial cities around Greece, Europe’s biggest gas network plan at present.

Networks representing a total length of 1,860 km and budgeted at 270 million euros are planned to be developed by DEDA, prospectively offering over 68,000 connections for consumers in the household, business and industrial sectors.

Balanced growth of Athens gas distribution network, PPC notes

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Power utility PPC, participating in public consultation for Athens gas distributor EDA Attiki’s five-year development plan, has called for an expansion of the gas distribution network in the Athens area that is both sustainable and balanced – socially and geographically – for maximum gas network penetration and fair cost distribution.

Prospective interest in less populated parts of the wider Athens area will grow and, as a result, could lead to a greater number of gas connections, higher consumption levels, and further retail gas market growth in these areas, PPC noted.

As a result, greater attention needs to be given to lower-priority areas in Athens possessing growth potential, the power utility pointed out.

PPC also called on gas grid operator DESFA to examine co-financing possibilities for projects covering gas network connection needs at social service points such as schools and other public buildings.

 

DEDA gas network expansion plan for northern Greece areas approved

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A revised five-year plan by gas distributor DEDA, now also incorporating northern Greece’s provinces of Ptolemaida, Kozani and Amynteo into the company’s network expansion plan, has been approved by RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy.

The three areas were included in DEDA’s original plan but later withdrawn as a result of company decisions on telethermal planning.

The new networks, all medium-pressure systems, will be expanded at towns within the three provinces and their industrial zones but not in the capital cities of Ptolemaida, Kozani and Amynteo, where telethermal systems will operate.

DEDA, now under the wings of DEPA Infrastructure, a new entity formed by gas utility DEPA ahead of its privatization, covers areas not served by EDA Attiki (wider Athens) and EDA Thess (Thessaloniki and Thessaly).

Meanwhile, gas grid operator DESFA’s ten-year development plan covering 2021 to 2030 envisages the construction of a metering and regulating (M&R) station in the Eordaia municipality’s Perdikkas area to secure its access to natural gas and telethermal systems.

Solid bidder turnout for DEDA east Macedonia, Thrace gas network tenders

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Five construction companies and one consortium have taken part in the first two tenders staged by gas distributor DEDA for the development of gas distribution networks in Xanthi/Drama and Alexandroupoli/Komotini, respectively, in Greece’s north and northeast.

Key Greek construction firms such as Aktor, Avax and Intracom were among the bidders, sources informed. Newcomers and older companies also took part in the tenders, totaling 33.4 million euros, including Edil Hellas, Ergo ATE and Vermion ATEE-Sourla Bros ATEBE.

The level of participation on the two tenders was described as satisfactory by DEDA’s managing director Marios Tsakas and a vote of confidence for the gas company’s ambitious plans to broaden the coverage of networks in provincial Greece.

DEDA covers all parts of Greece not represented by fellow DEPA Infrastructure subsidiaries EDA Attiki, covering the wider Athens area, and EDA THES, covering Thessaloniki and Thessaly.

Project contracts with winning bidders could be signed by the end of the year so that construction work of the new networks can begin early in 2021 in all four provincial cities, sources said.

Avax, Aktor, Ergo ATE, Edil Hellas, Vermion ATEE-Sourla Bros ATEBE and Intracom took part in the DEDA tender for the development of gas networks in the Xanthi and Drama areas, budgeted at 17.1 million euros.

Avax, Aktor, Ergo ATE, Edil Hellas and Intracom also took part in the Alexandroupoli/Komotini tender, budgeted at 16.3 million euros.

The two regional projects are being funded by own funds, loans and business development funds for the east Macedonia and Thrace regions.

Gas distribution networks totaling at least 200 kilometers for 4,066 connections concerning all gas consumer categories by 2024 are planned for the Xanthi and Drama areas.

As for the Alexandroupoli and Komotini areas, the DEDA plan entails construction of gas distribution networks totaling 170 kilometers for at least 5,279 connections by 2024.

DEDA plans to launch new tenders next month for construction of gas networks in Orestiada and Kavala, northern Greece, sources said.

Overall, the new gas distribution networks planned by DEDA in the six provincial cities are budgeted at 56.6 million euros, plus 24% VAT, and will provide a total of 496,000 kilometers of mid and low-pressure gas supply lines for at least 15,000 consumer connections of all categories.

DEDA is also planning tenders next month for gas network projects in central Greece and the central Macedonia region.

Clearer framework needed for new gas distribution networks

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RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, has identified the need for clear-cut, objective terms, based on technocratic criteria, for an improved strategy to help take natural gas to regions around the country without distribution network access at present.

Approval procedures for development plans submitted by gas distribution companies are currently in progress, and, in addition, the distribution sector is being restructured.

The energy ministry has made clear it wants a consistent and modern framework to facilitate the development of new distribution networks in as many parts of Greece as possible, a government objective.

Gas sector conditions also need to be made as clear as possible ahead of the privatization of DEPA Infrastructure, owning gas distributor EDA Attiki, servicing the wider Athens area; 51 percent of EDA Thess, covering the Thessaloniki area; and DEDA, distributing to all other regions not serviced by the two aforementioned firms.

RAE is now preparing a new framework concerning the appraisal and approval of development plans by gas distribution companies, as well as a formula for their earnings.

 

 

 

DEDA tenders for gas networks in east Macedonia, Thrace

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Gas distributor DEDA, representing areas in Greece beyond Athens, Thessaloniki and Thessaly, is expected to launch tenders over the next few days for pipeline infrastructure construction in northeastern Greece’s east Macedonia and Thrace region, totaling 484.6 kilometers, by 2022.

This upcoming round of tenders, for network projects budgeted at over 51 million euros in east Macedonia and Thrace, will focus on the provincial cities Alexandroupoli, Komotini, Drama, Xanthi, Orestiada and Kavala.

DEDA’s chief executive Marios Tsokas is likely to visit Greece’s east Macedonia and Thrace region during the week.

Some 12,500 households, 2,300 businesses and 34 industrial consumers are expected to be connected to the east Macedonia and Thrace region’s resulting gas distribution network.

Additional tenders are planned in September for networks in the central Macedonia and central Greece regions, as part of DEDA’s wider plan for a network totaling 1,830 kilometers in 34 provincial cities by 2024, included in the gas distributor’s five-year plan.

DEDA plans to open retail outlets in areas where networks will be developed.

DEDA set to launch tenders for gas networks in north, central Greece

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Gas distributor DEDA, covering all areas around Greece other than wider Athens, Thessaloniki and Thessaly, is set to launch three separate tenders for the construction of natural gas distribution networks servicing east Macedonia and Thrace in the northeast, central Macedonia, in the north, as well as central Greece.

DEDA is discussing final details with regional authorities before its launches the tenders, expected within the next few days.

A consultation procedure staged in the lead up generated considerable feedback from construction and technical companies, engineers, as well as a range of technical associations.

Consultation was followed by meetings with interested parties for further exchange of ideas and to determine optimal ways to move forward with project details.

DEDA wants review of decision dropping 8 cities from 5-year development plan

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Gas distributor DEDA wants RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, to review its recent decision removing the entire Peloponnese and provincial cities Veria and Giannitsa from the distributor’s five-year development plan covering 2020 to 2024. DEDA has lodged a review request to RAE, sources informed.

In addition, the gas distributor has also delivered an upgraded 2020-2024 development program to the authority that envisions swifter development of natural gas distribution networks in Veria and Giannitsa.

Completion of these two network projects faced an 18-month delay, according to the previous schedule, prompting the authority to drop both from the DEDA five-year plan.

As for DEDA’s network development plan in the Peloponnese, covering six provincial cities, Tripoli, Corinthos, Argos, Nafplio, Sparti and Kalamata, the distributor intends to resubmit a revised and expanded five-year plan in September.

Regional Peloponnese authorities expect NSRF support to become available by September.

Gas grid operator DESFA is also planning to develop related projects needed for the Peloponnese grid.

Also, DESFA’s new business plan includes LNG truck-loading supply plans for Sparti and Kalamata, from the Revythoussa islet terminal off Athens.

Meanwhile, tenders offering construction contracts for gas networks covering northern Greece’s east Macedonia, Thrace and central Macedonia regions, as well as central Greece, are expected be launched in early July.

DESFA wants key role in country’s infrastructure projects

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Gas grid operator DESFA, controlled by Senfluga, a consortium formed by Snam, Enagas and Fluxys for their acquisition of a 66 percent stake of the operator in 2018, is determined to play a leading role in all the country’s infrastructure projects as well as Greece’s wider natural gas-related developments.

“We see our role as being that of the leader in Greece’s gas sector and the wider region. We are interested in every gas project and want to be able to claim it. We also have the know-how and strong shareholders to play such a role,” a DESFA official told energypress.

According to sources, DESFA’s emergence as a prospective buyer of DEPA Infrastructure, a new entity established by gas utility DEPA as part of its privatization procedure, prompted officials to slightly extend the sale deadline.

More specifically, Snam, the Senfluga consortium’s chief member with a 54 percent stake, requested a deadline extension for the DEPA Infrastructure as it has yet to decide on its partners for this bidding quest. Enagas and Fluxys each hold 18 percent stakes in Senfluga. The Copelouzos group’s Damco recently joined this consortium, buying a 10 percent stake.

DESFA’s influence is also believed to have persuaded officials to delay a decision on whether to classify the development of a natural gas storage facility at a depleted offshore gas field in the south Kavala region as a national or independent grid project.

Snam, Enagas and Fluxys are part of the six-member Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) consortium.

DESFA, which has signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the Alexandroupoli FSRU, is now seriously considering to acquire a 20 percent stake in this venture, headed by Gastrade.

Other projects being considered by DESFA include a 175 million-euro Cretan LNG terminal that promises to resolve the island’s energy sufficiency concerns, as well as a 57.3-km gas pipeline connection linking the Thessaloniki area with North Macedonia, already included in the operator’s ten-year strategic plan.

 

East Med, IGB, Alexandroupoli FSRU upgrading Greek role

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Three major energy projects of international dimension, the East Med and IGB natural gas pipelines, as well as the Alexandroupoli FSRU (Floating Storage Regasification Unit), all once seeming distant prospects, are now gradually turning into a close reality.

Their development promise to transform Greece into an energy hub and upgrade the country’s geopolitical standing in the fragile southeast Mediterranean and Balkan regions.

The leaders of Greece, Cyprus and Israel are set to sign a trilateral agreement for East Med, to carry natural gas to Europe via these countries and Italy, at a meeting in Athens on January 2. The transmission capacity of this project, measuring 2,000 km, will range between 10 to 20 billion cubic meters. Italy is also expected to eventually join the partnership for this project.

Its development prospects have been further propelled by a decision from Poseidon, a 50-50 joint venture involving Greek gas utility DEPA and Italy’s Edison, to accelerate the completion of all pending issues needed for the project’s maturity.

The trilateral agreement promises to further bolster ties between Greece, Cyprus and Israel amid a period of heightened regional intensity. Turkish provocation has escalated. An East Med Gas Forum to take place in Cairo January 15 and 16 with participation from the energy ministers of Greece, Cyprus, Israel, Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority should help expand the alliance.

The Greek-Bulgarian IGB gas pipeline is expected to have begun operating far sooner, in July, 2021. DEPA holds a 25 percent stake in ICGB, the consortium overseeing the IGB project, whose initial capacity will be 3 bcm. Through this pipeline, DEPA plans to supply the Bulgarian market with Azeri gas hailing from the TAP route, and, as a result, break, for the first time, the existing Russian monopoly in the neighboring market.

The IGB will not only be fed by TAP, running westwards across northern Greece for Azeri supply to Europe. The Alexandroupoli FSRU to be anchored off coastal Alexandroupoli, northeastern Greece, will also feed the IGB, enabling an alternative gas supply source for Bulgaria, other east European countries, and Ukraine.

DEPA is also involved in this project. The gas utility has just decided to acquire a 20 percent stake in Gastrade, the company developing the FSRU project in Alexandroupoli.

Leading Washington officials have expressed their support for the East Med, IGB and Alexandroupoli FSRU projects. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will be seeking confirmation of this backing on an upcoming official trip to the US from President Donald Trump himself.

 

NSRF funds for gas network at €111m, Alexandroupoli FSRU on the cards

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Gas network development projects for the expansion and upgrade of transmission and distribution infrastructure are included in the EU’s National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) funding program for a total of 111.2 million euros, a local authority has noted.

In addition, an NSRF funding application is now also being prepared for a prospective FSRU facility in Alexandroupoli, northeastern Greece, according to Panagiotis Korkolis, the secretary-general for public investments and NSRF funding.

Gas grid expansion and upgrade projects are being planned for central Greece, northern Greece’s central Macedonia and west Macedonia regions, eastern Macedonia and Thrace in the country’s northeast; as well as western Greece.

The country’s gas networks are an integral part of the country’s energy system, now headed towards digitization and an expansion of interconnections both within and beyond Greece, according to energy minister Giorgos Stathakis, in response to a related question in parliament from MPs of the centrist Movement for Change (KINAL).