HEDNO

Electricity suppliers’ windfall earnings confirmed at €250m

Posted on by admin

Latest data collected by authorities to determine windfall earnings gained by electricity suppliers between August, 2022 and the end of 2023, the period during which energy-crisis measures were implemented, have confirmed an earlier projection of roughly 250 million euros.

RAAEY, the Regulatory Authority for Waste, Energy and Water, had conducted its windfall earnings calculations in February, informed the energy ministry of its results.

However, distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO still needed to determine and factor in a normalization coefficient before this sum could be confirmed.

The normalization coefficient is designed to adjust megawatt-hours suppliers are charged monthly – based on their declarations submitted to the Energy Exchange – with actual megawatt-hours they have used.

Now that the coefficient has been finalized, the energy ministry can issue a ministerial decision, expected within the next few days, to validate the windfall earnings sum and proceed with its recovery from electricity suppliers.

As previously reported by energypress, virtually all windfall earnings will go towards partially covering amounts owed by municipal water supply and sewerage companies (DEYA) to power utility PPC.

Suppliers turning away from net metering as losses grow

Posted on by admin

Many of the country’s electricity suppliers do not intend to offer contract extensions for existing net-metering contracts as this supply category has developed into a loss-incurring service.

The energy ministry held a meeting earlier this week to discuss the issue with suppliers as well as officials from distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO and RAAEY, the Regulatory Authority for Waste, Energy and Water, energypress sources informed.

Policymakers are examining possible revisions that could allow suppliers to recover additional costs more effectively, but no decisions have been reached, the sources added.

The meeting was held as a number of energy communities planning to develop net-metering systems to offset their members’ consumption have not been able to find suppliers for such contracts. It was the second meeting to be held on the matter.

According to suppliers, existing offsetting terms disregard the value of electricity involved, leading to losses for suppliers.

In practice, PV net-metering systems experience production peaks during midday hours, discharging excess production to the grid as a means of storage that enables usage, in accounting terms, during the evening hours, when PVs do not produce.

However, given the fact that consumers have entered into net-metering contracts with suppliers at specific prices, normally costlier energy of evening hours that is drawn from the grid to meet customer energy needs ends up being purchased by suppliers without this additional cost being recovered in any way.

A draft bill proposed by the energy ministry, currently under discussion in Parliament, is poised to bring significant alterations to self-production practices. Net-metering for residential PVs will be terminated May 15 and replaced by net-billing.

 

 

RES units over 1 MW face real-time grid-injection cuts

Posted on by admin

RES units with capacities of 1 MW and above will be subjected to real-time grid-injection cuts by distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO, while smaller RES units of between 400 KW and 1 MW will not face such cuts, according to an energy ministry bill currently being discussed in Parliament and expected to soon be implemented.

However, smaller units spared of grid-injection cuts will need to compensate larger units for output they would normally inject into the grid, according to the injecting-cutting plan’s framework.

RES units with capacities exceeding 1 MW will need to have injection-cutting equipment installed within a six-month period beginning May 1, according to the draft bill.

DEDDIE/HEDNO will manage this new grid injection-cutting system, based on a model already adopted by power grid operator IPTO, for projects representing a capacity of between 2.5 and 3 GW.

The decision to restrict the grid injection-cutting system to RES units of 1 MW and above is favored at the ministry as it will be easier to implement, given the large number of PVs with capacities below 1 MW.

Roof-mounted PV applications surge, subsidy program ending

Posted on by admin

The premature termination of the PV Stegi subsidy program for roof-mounted solar panel installations, set to end on May 15, instead of June 30, as was officially announced earlier this week, has led to a surge in applications, numbering over 200 per day, energypress sources have informed.

The ministry is ending its PV Stegi subsidy program ahead of schedule as it is tied to a net-metering compensation system for self production that has been disapproved by the European Commission, now endorsing a net-billing system.

Both net-metering and net-billing compensate solar-system owners for transferring electricity to the grid when their panels overproduce, but the ways the two systems compensate differs. Net metering credits equal the retail electricity rate paid by customers for electricity. On the contrary, net billing credits equal the wholesale rate electricity companies pay for electricity.

Under the new regulations, to apply beyond May 15, households installing solar panels for self-production will be compensated through a net-billing system.

At present, 22,000 net-metering applications – 12,000 through the PV Stegi subsidy program and 10,000 without subsidies – still need to be processed at distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO for connections to the grid, sources told energypress.

Market players have been critical of the energy ministry’s handling of the matter, as highlighted recently by SEF, the Hellenic Association of Photovoltaic Companies, which described the ministry’s change of course as an unnecessary market disturbance.

Though market officials appear to agree on the switch to net billing, they have stressed the need for a more organized approach so that a prolonged shock to the market, which could last months, may be avoided. A number of companies have invested heavily in the roof-mounted PVs sector, officials have underlined.

 

Electricity theft battle hardens, tax authority joins effort

Posted on by admin

Efforts by Greek authorities to clamp down on electricity theft are being intensified as distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO, on the front line of the battle, is now been provided detailed information by the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE), including tax office details of taxpayers, tax file numbers, full names, as well as residential and business addresses of electricity consumers.

With such details at its disposal, made possible by a new legislative act forwarded by the energy ministry, DEDDIE/HEDNO will be able to cross-examine tax file numbers declared by customers.

The energy ministry had promised to take such action last autumn. At the time, the ministry had discovered a considerable amount of nonsensical information, including roughly 1.5 million power meters registered on power utility PPC’s records without owners or tax file numbers.

This discovery prompted the energy ministry to decide to ask DEDDIE/HEDNO to proceed with cross-examinations of tax file numbers and power meters in collaboration with AADE, the tax authority.

Tougher electricity theft measures, 4-month limit on universal service

Posted on by admin

Electricity-theft rackets are being targeted through tougher measures prepared by the energy ministry, including loss of professional licenses for electricians bribed to offer their services for such practices.

The energy ministry has just forwarded a related bill containing tougher rules for consultation as part of its effort to clamp down on electricity theft.

Electricity theft has been on the rise, reaching roughly 13,000 cases, annually, while the majority of offenders stem from the business sector, energy ministry Thodoris Skylakakis has noted.

Electricity theft has been estimated to represent 4.8 percent of the electricity market for an annual loss of nearly 400 million euros, a sum ultimately covered by lawful consumers, the minister has pointed out.

Under the new rules, electricians will need to sign affidavits certifying that their installations are lawful and in accordance with safety regulations.

Electricity supply to properties will only begin once DEDDIE/HEDNO, the distribution network operator, has been informed that affidavits have been submitted by electricians.

Other measures included in the energy ministry’s bill include a four-month limit on the use of the country’s universal electricity supply service by black-listed household and business consumers who have been shunned by suppliers over payment failures.

At present, black-listed consumers no longer accepted by electricity suppliers can rely on the universal electricity supply service for unlimited periods.

Provided collectively – by law – by the electricity market’s top five suppliers, based on market share, the universal electricity supply service has grown to become a key supplier.

 

More favorable operating terms for “PVs on Farmland”

Posted on by admin

The energy ministry is planning more favorable operating terms for small-scale solar systems inducted into a “PVs on farmland” subsidy program supporting PV installations by farmers seeking to meet their energy needs through self-production.

A 50-KW capacity limit has been decided on for PV investments included in this subsidy program, whose terms have been finalized and are set to be officially announced in the first half of April.

Distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO will then launch an online platform accepting applications for the “PVs on farmland” subsidy program, to make available a total of 30 million euros at a subsidy rate of 40 percent, regardless of system capacity.

Farmers will be able to submit applications for the subsidy program without having previously signed connection term agreements with the operator.

PV systems with a capacity of up to 30 KW will be regulated under a net-metering system, while photovoltaic systems with capacities ranging from 31 to 50 KW will be regulated under the net-billing system, energypress sources informed.

Farmers planning smaller PV systems of up to 10 KW will be given priority in the processing of applications. Between 2,000 and 3,000 applications are expected to be approved.

 

Debt-flagging system proposal ‘insufficient’, suppliers warn

Posted on by admin

A debt-flagging system has been included in proposed revisions for the country’s electricity supply code, put to consultation by RAAEY, the Regulatory Authority for Waste, Energy and Water, in an effort to deal with numerous debt-owing consumers who are systematically switching suppliers to avoid payments, a practice locally dubbed “energy tourism”.

Suppliers are already questioning the efficacy of the electricity supply code revisions proposed as they do not permit supply-cut requests for former customers with arrears.

As a result, suppliers will have no incentive to raise the flag on former customers if they are not able to recover older debt from them, critics of the new proposal have pointed out.

To produce desired results, the debt-flagging system will require a thorough and collective effort from all suppliers.

Under the authority’s proposed revisions, electricity suppliers will only be able to raise the flag on consumers with arrears, for all suppliers to see through a collective data bank, if customers with arrears have failed to respond to installment-based payback requests made by their suppliers.

These installment-based payback requests made by suppliers will need to offer consumers at least six monthly installments.

The debt-flagging system, to be established by distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO, will maintain records of all consumers with electricity-bill arrears as far back as January 1, 2020.

Consumers will be regarded as strategic evaders of electricity bill payments if they have switched at least two suppliers from January 1, 2020 to avoid servicing overdue amounts.

 

Small-scale PVs a risk for grid stability, switch resets needed

Posted on by admin

Energy-sector authorities have decided to move ahead with legislation requiring small-scale PV producers to make switch-system adjustments that would prevent their PVs from being disconnected from the distribution network as a result of voltage changes.

Small-scale PVs linked to the distribution network have reached a total capacity of roughly 7.5 GW, making them crucial for grid stability.

Power grid operator IPTO officials have underlined that the matter needs to be dealt with urgently.

At a meeting earlier this week, officials of the energy ministry, RAAEY, the Regulatory Authority for Waste, Energy and Water, power grid operator IPTO, and distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO agreed to push ahead with the legislative revision.

Once implemented, it will require PV producers to have their system switches reset so that their PVs could tolerate voltage changes and not be disconnected from the distribution network.

According to IPTO, switch resetting is a simple procedure that can be performed in just a few minutes by technicians.

Suppliers pressured by partial recovery of public service sums

Posted on by admin

Distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO has, since April last year, been partially covering monthly public service compensation (YKO) reimbursments entitled by the country’s electricity suppliers, a shortfall putting their budgets under pressure.

This deficit is expected to widen further over the coming months without any specific solution yet in place.

Electricity suppliers are recovering an average of between 60 and 65 percent of amounts they should be receiving, energypress sources have informed.

The public service compensation special account’s revenues have decreased as a result of a drop in wholesale electricity prices and retail electricity tariffs, but outlays subsidizing electricity used by consumers on the country’s non-interconnected islands and by low-income households have remained steady.

The country’s public service compensation special account entered deficit territory for the first time in April last year, and, as a consequence, as foreseen by sector regulations, DEDDIE/HEDNO has, over the past 11 months, been asking electricity retailers to partially cover amounts they should be receiving for public services. This essentially means electricity suppliers are financing public services with their own capital.

Consequently, respective amounts owed to suppliers are adding up to tens of millions of euros, a significant additional burden on their finances.

The public service compensation special account ended 2023 with a deficit of roughly 300 million euros, a level expected to be repeated this year.

The energy ministry is promoting a plan to divide this deficit into three sections so that it may be dealt with over as many years, beginning this year until 2026. The state budget would take on the biggest share, according to this plan, being discussed by the energy and national economy and finance ministries.

 

Protasis-Sagemcom victorious in smart meters extra tender

Posted on by admin

A joint bid by Greek company Protasis and France’s Sagemcom Energy & Telecom SAS appears to have emerged victorious in a supplementary tender staged by Greek electricity distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO for the installation of an initial lot of 360,000 low-voltage smart meters around the country, as an addition to 7.3 million smart meters planned through the project’s main tender.

The main tender still has a long way to go as technical and financial details included in bids submitted December 7 amount to hundreds of pages and represent a humongous task for officials. But the progress made with the supplementary tender comes as an encouraging sign.

The major tender’s anticipated delay prompted DEDDIE/HEDNO to announce its supplementary tender so that some progress can be made during the major tender’s appraisal period.

The same four bidders have submitted offers to both tenders. Besides the joint bid submitted by Protasis and Sagemcom Energy & Telecom SAS, US corporation Itron’s Spanish subsidiary, fellow US firm Elster Rometrics’ Romanian subsidiary, and Slovenia’s Iskraemeco submitted bids to both procedures.

This initial lot of 360,000 smart meters has been marked out for large-scale consumers as well as public-sector agencies and enterprises all over the country.

 

HEDNO legally shielded in case of transformer-upgrade effects

Posted on by admin

The energy ministry is preparing a legislative revision designed to offer distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO legal protection against transformer short circuits.

The revision, likely to be attached to a forthcoming urban planning bill, will oblige medium-voltage consumers to take appropriate action protecting their installations from damage that could be caused by short-circuit level increases.

DEDDIE/HEDNO is currently staging preliminary studies concerning an upgrade of the electrical distribution network’s transformers.

The energy ministry’s legislative revision will ensure that the distribution network operator will be spared of any legal issues should this upgrade have adverse effects on installations of medium-voltage consumers located up to 3 km from respective substations.

The ministry’s legislative revision will require consumers to inspect their electrical installations ahead of the operator’s upgrade of transformers. Should any issues be identified during these checks, consumers will need to replace any necessary equipment at their expense.

According to sector officials, the revision is essentially a precautionary measure as electrical equipment currently being used is relatively modern – less than 20 years old – with specifications to withstand increased short-circuiting levels.

Transformers in areas where investors have expressed interest to install RES facilities will be given priority by the distribution network operator during its upgrade process.

 

Suppliers’ windfall earnings estimated to reach €200m

Posted on by admin

Electricity supplier windfall earnings between August, 2022 and the end of 2023, the period during which energy-crisis measures were implemented, are expected to reach roughly 200 million euros, RAAEY, the Regulatory Authority for Waste, Energy and Water, has estimated.

The exact sum cannot yet be finalized as a couple more factors still need to be taken into account.

Power utility PPC still needs to provide RAAEY with related figures concerning the final quarter of 2023, while distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO must forward a “normalization coefficient” concerning megawatt-hour rates suppliers are charged each month based on declarations they submit to the energy exchange.

The bigger the normalization coefficient to be forwarded by DEDDIE/HEDNO to RAAEY, the lower the resulting windfall earnings will be.

Suppliers will need to make windfall-return payments over two installments, the first of which will represent 60 percent of their respective amounts.

The sums to be received, it has been decided, will be allocated almost exclusively to partially servicing debt owed by municipal water supply and sewerage companies (DEYA) to power utility PPC.

HEDNO retroactive clearance amounts put suppliers under pressure

Posted on by admin

The country’s independent electricity suppliers currently face a significant retroactive cost burden after having recently received final clearance requests for settlement of amounts owed to distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO, which, in the case of the larger companies, exceed 10 million euros.

A normalization factor calculated by DEDDIE/HEDNO has resulted in a significant discrepancy between the quantities of electricity paid by suppliers while the normalization factor was applied in the first half of 2022, and the quantities determined now, based on the final settlement.

Additional kilowatt-hours will be charged at wholesale prices of the time, which are exorbitant, given that the energy crisis was at its peak in 2022. As a consequence, this will put some suppliers under financial pressure.

According to supply company officials, delays in the procedure for final settlements, beyond a prescribed one-year deadline, are also causing issues. Cases concerning the first half of 2022 should have been completed by the first half of 2023, they noted.

This delay effectively means that amounts requested cannot be recovered from consumers who actually consumed the energy in question. Moreover, many consumers may have changed supplier in the process.

 

 

Operator incentives for smart meters, dynamic tariffs nearing

Posted on by admin

Distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO will be offered incentive for swift progress on its installation of smart meters, to replace conventional power meters around the country, but will also face penalties for delays, according to energy ministry revisions made to Greece’s REPowerEU package.

According to the plan, the operator will gain from bonuses for swift roll-out of smart meters, while, in the case of delays, DEDDIE/HEDNO’s regulated earnings will be impacted.

The revisions also include a framework for the introduction of dynamic tariffs. Planned to be introduced during the second half of the year, these tariffs will offer low-voltage consumers equipped with smart meters the ability to take advantage of fluctuations in wholesale electricity prices.

For example, consumers will be able to schedule the use of as many appliances as possible at times of low wholesale electricity prices in order to reduce electricity bills, such as midday hours if solar energy production has struck high levels.

Dynamic tariffs, dubbed orange tariffs, will add to the range of tariff choices available to consumers under the country’s new tariff system, color-coding tariff categories for easier price-comparing ability.

Fixed tariffs, or blue tariffs, as well as variable tariffs, either yellow or green tariffs, were introduced January 1. Though yellow and green tariffs are both variable tariffs, the former are set at the end of each month, and, as a result, represent less of a risk for suppliers.

Bids submitted by all four first-round qualifiers to a tender being staged DEDDIE/HEDNO offering a lucrative contract for the installation of 7.3 million smart meters throughout the country are currently being assessed.

Grid fee hike if producers take on 50% of expansion costs

Posted on by admin

RAAEY, the Regulatory Authority for Waste, Energy and Water, has warned the energy ministry that a decision it has reached to make electricity producers responsible for half the cost of expanding electrical distribution and transmission networks would significantly increase regulated network usage surcharges included in electricity bills.

The authority forwarded a letter to the ministry last Thursday to highlight the dangers of this measure, which has been facilitated by a legislative revision ratified back in the summer of 2022.

Surcharges concerning the country’s transmission network, managed by power grid operator IPTO, would be particularly affected, RAAEY noted in its letter.

However, the distribution network, operated by DEDDIE/HEDNO, the distribution network operator, would be less exposed to surcharge increases as it caters to RES producers and concerns lines that do not serve consumers but are connected to privately owned high or medium-voltage substations, new or existing, as well as network extension projects of less than 100 meters in length for connecting individual generators.

Extra smart meters tender offers to be opened by Feb. 10

Posted on by admin

Bids submitted by four participants to a supplementary tender being staged by Greek electricity distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO for the installation of an initial lot of 360,000 low-voltage smart meters, as an addition to 7.3 million smart meters planned through the project’s main tender, are expected to be opened for appraisal towards the end of next week.

This initial lot of 360,000 smart meters has been marked out for large-scale consumers as well as agencies and enterprises of the public sector.

The appraisal procedure for offers submitted to the main tender, offering a lucrative 1.2 billion-euro contract for the installation of 7.3 million smart meters throughout the country, still has a long way to go. Technical and financial details in the bids, amounting to hundreds of pages, present a humongous task for officials.

The same four bidders have submitted offers to both tenders. Greek company Protasis, partnering with France’s Sagemcom Energy & Telecom SAS; US corporation Itron’s Spanish subsidiary; fellow US firm Elster Rometrics’ Romanian subsidiary; and Slovenia’s Iskraemeco make up the field of contestants.

A fifth participant, Landis+Gyr, was disqualified from the main tender’s first round after officials deemed the company breached the tender’s conditions and terms by declaring, as a sub-contractor, a production facility other than its Corinth plant, west of Athens, which serves as an international hub for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Landis+Gyr took legal action but the Council of State, Greece’s Supreme Administrative Court, rejected the case.

Following the court’s decision, the CEO of the company, Werner Lieberherr, stated he was suspending any further investments he had planned in Greece and would seek other countries for production.

 

 

RAAEY energy sufficiency plan for non-interconnected islands

Posted on by admin

The energy ministry is close to finalizing a plan to resolve energy sufficiency issues of Greece’s non-interconnected islands following a series of meetings and exchange of opinions with power utility PPC, power grid operator IPTO, distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO, and RAAEY, the Regulatory Authority for Waste, Energy and Water, energypress sources have informed.

RAAEY, the sources noted, is currently preparing a plan for the ministry that contains details of a required legislative revision, which, when ratified, will enable PPC to proceed with its energy sufficiency plan for the non-interconnected islands.

The power utility has prepared a comprehensive plan designed to meet the needs of these islands until 2030, using everything from power coupling and gas turbines to batteries. The cost of these solutions is expected to range between 200 and 500 million euros, depending on the payback period and whether some units will be purchased, in addition to leases.

PPC has already reached an agreement with Greek construction and energy group GEK-TERNA for the purchase and transfer to Crete of the latter’s 147-MW gas-fired power plant, currently stationed in the Viotia area, northwest of Athens.

PPC, which has undertaken the task of ensuring energy sufficiency on Crete, plans to have the power plant transferred and reinstalled on the island in time for this coming summer, when energy demand typically peaks.

At a meeting chaired by the energy ministry, a decision was reached to cover 75 percent of the power plant’s remuneration through the public service compensation (YKO) account, accumulating related surcharges added to all electricity bills.

PPC developing into a southeast European force

Posted on by admin

Greek power utility PPC is establishing itself as a leading player in southeast Europe and the Balkans, an energy market offering the potential of roughly 40 million consumers, its top-ranked officials have told a Capital Markets Day event in London.

PPC’s leadership presented the energy group’s ambitious business plan, a nine billion-euro investment package, at the London event, staged yesterday, as a strategy through which the company will strive to capture a substantial share of the Balkan market.

The business plan includes development, between 2024 and 2026, of an 8.9-GW renewable energy portfolio, one of southeast Europe’s biggest, as well as an upgrading 381,000 kilometers of grid networks in Greece and Romania.

PPC’s business plan promises to place the company in a market quadruple the size of the Greek energy market.

PPC holds a 51 percent stake in Greek distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO and controls the distribution networks of three regions in Romania, including Bucharest, by far the country’s biggest.

Besides greater renewable energy interests, PPC also plans to soon offer a wide range of energy solutions for consumers, including smart-home products, home advisory services, and insurance packages, all of which will be available both in Greece, through the company’s fully-owned Kotsovolos electrical and electronics retail chain, as well as in neighboring markets through PPC’s associates.

Since its leadership change in the summer of 2019, when CEO Giorgos Stassis and his administrative team took charge, PPC has progressed from the brink of financial collapse to stability and growth, and is now in a commanding position in the Balkans. Analysts have not ruled out an upward revision of targets as a result of PPC’s potential.

PPC overachieved on its EBITDA target for 2023, which ended at 1.5 billion euros, well above a 1.1 billion-euro goal set in a 2020 business plan. This has led a growing number of analysts to believe that a 2.3 billion-euro EBITDA target set for 2026 could be achieved sooner.

PPC’s planned RES growth, to 8.9 GW by 2026, or 68 percent of the energy group’s production capacity, promises to secure greatly improved lending terms for the company, once one of Europe’s worst polluters.

PPC plans to shut down all of its existing lignite-fired power plants, totaling 1.5 GW, by 2026, which will slash the company’s CO2 emissions from 23.1 million tons in 2019 to 5.9 million tons in 2026. The energy group plans to continue operating its forthcoming Ptolemaida V power station for back-up services. It will initially operate as a low-emitting lignite-fired power station before eventually converting to natural gas.

RAAEY working on new version of ‘energy tourism’ restrictions

Posted on by admin

Residential electricity consumers will be permitted to change as many as three suppliers without having previously settled older energy bills or made installment-based payback arrangements, while business consumers will be set a two-supplier limit, according to a latest third version of upcoming rules intended to prevent consumers from abandoning suppliers despite owing electricity-bill amounts, a phenomenon locally dubbed “energy tourism”.

These limits for residential and business consumers will be applied retroactively, beginning January 1, 2020.

The new rules will also include a debt-flagging system on a collective platform maintained by distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO, so that suppliers may be aware if prospective customers have been on the run.

Also, punctual customers will, as a reward, face less red tape if wanting to switch electricity suppliers.

RAAEY, the Regulatory Authority for Waste, Energy and Water, is now working on the latest revisions to the plan, which, once completed, will be forwarded to the energy ministry for implementation.

 

Second-round bids for smart meters undergoing assessment

Posted on by admin

Bids submitted by all four first-round qualifiers to a tender being staged by Greek electricity distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO offering a lucrative contract for the installation of 7.3 million smart meters throughout the country are currently being assessed.

Participants submitted their bids for this major project, budgeted at 1.2 billion euros, on December 7. The appraisal process of technical and financial details in the bids, amounting to hundreds of pages, is a humongous task.

Officials are striving for the installation of a first wave of smart meters as soon as possible. The project, one of Greece’s biggest of recent times, is planned to be completed over a series of stages by late 2030.

Greek company Protasis, partnering with France’s Sagemcom Energy & Telecom SAS; US corporation Itron’s Spanish subsidiary; fellow US firm Elster Rometrics’ Romanian subsidiary; and Slovenia’s Iskraemeco make up the field of contestants.

Ministry looking into virtual net metering issues raised

Posted on by admin

Virtual net metering functional issues affecting energy communities, according to two local consumer groups, are currently being examined, while immediate regulatory action will be taken if deemed necessary, deputy energy minister Alexandra Sdoukou has informed.

The consumer support groups, Electra Energy and Ekpoizo, recently forwarded a joint letter to point out problems faced by energy communities. The issue was also raised in Parliament by main opposition party Syriza’s energy-sector head, Miltos Zamparas.

Energy communities and their members have faced issues around the country for quite some time as a virtual net metering model has not been properly implemented, the Syriza party official told Parliament, while calling for the immediate intervention of RAAEY, the Regulatory Authority for Waste, Energy and Water, and the energy ministry.

Many energy community members have complained that electricity  suppliers are not complying with terms, also contending communication with distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO and suppliers has been poor.

As a result of these functional issues, energy community members are reportedly incurring losses as their electricity bill costs are not being offset, which defeats the purpose of establishing energy communities in the first place.

Virtual net metering links scattered operations to just one electricity meter to offset the cost of electricity supplied by the power utility with electricity produced by self-production for the grid.

Small-scale Cyclades PVs nearing readiness to operate

Posted on by admin

Small-scale RES projects of up to 400 kW that had undergone a bidding process for tariffs through a RES auction organized by the distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO to cover the Cyclades, along with equivalent auctions for projects in the Peloponnese and Crete, are nearing readiness for operation.

A follow-up procedure offering finalized connection terms to these Cyclades RES projects has begun and is expected to be completed next week, when all 51 projects for which successful bids had been submitted to the Cyclades auction should have received their connection terms, energypress sources informed. These 51 projects represent a total capacity of 18 MW, the sources added.

The energy ministry, as previously reported, has decided to end administratively-set tariffs for small-scale RES projects a year ahead of schedule. A relevant bill is expected to soon be submitted to Parliament.

Under the resulting system, investors behind new RES projects will need to participate in RES auctions to secure their tariffs, which will be lower compared to administratively-set tariffs.

However, small-scale RES projects in the Cyclades will be exempted from the new system and will still be able to secure administratively-set tariff agreements with DAPEEP, the RES market operator. These projects will also be exempted from substantial grid-injection cut rules.

The outcome of RES auctions concerning small-scale projects in the Peloponnese and Crete has been put on hold in anticipation of a court ruling following charges filed by plaintiffs alleging foul play.

Power bill surcharges left unchanged, budget money needed for special a/c deficits

Posted on by admin

RAAEY, the Regulatory Authority for Waste, Energy and Water, has decided to keep unchanged, for 2024, two surcharges included in electricity bills, a RES-supporting ETMEAR surcharge as well as an YKO surcharge supporting public service compensation.

The authority, whose decisions, taken to protect electricity consumers from higher energy costs, has called for budget funds to be used to cover any resulting deficits to the special accounts for renewable energy and public service compensation.

RES market operator DAPEEP and distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO, respectively managing RES and public service compensation special accounts, have both forecast account deficits for 2024.

According to sources, public service compensation special account data forwarded by DEDDIE/HEDNO to RAAEY showed a 300 million-euro deficit for 2023 and forecast an equivalent deficit for 2024.

The deficits have been mainly attributed to energy-crisis electricity subsidies offered to all consumers through funds transferred from the public service compensation special account to the Energy Transition Fund.

According to ESPEN, the Greek Energy Suppliers Association, a sum of 460 million euros was transferred to the Energy Transition Fund from the public service compensation special account between August, 2022 and April, 2023.

DAPEEP, the RES market operator managing the RES special account, informed RAAEY of a 196.74 million-euro deficit for 2023, sources informed.

RAAEY decided to keep the RES-supporting ETMEAR surcharge unchanged for 2024, at 17 euros per MWh, based on a wholesale electricity price average scenario of 111 euros per MWh for this year, which, according to the operator, would result in a RES special account surplus of 6.55 million euros at the end of 2024.

However, the wholesale electricity price average for 2024 will most likely end up below the 111 euros per MWh and result in a RES special account deficit.

The country’s wholesale electricity price has averaged approximately 100 euros per MWh since last summer.

TSOs preparing power sufficiency plans for the islands

Posted on by admin

The country’s TSOs are planning a transitional strategy ensuring electricity supply for the country’s non-interconnected islands still not linked to the mainland grid, as well as a second plan that would boost production capacity and serve as back-up once subsea cable interconnections linking non-interconnected islands have begun operating.

The transitional plan, the most urgent of the two initiatives, is the responsibility of distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO and concerns providing energy coverage for islands to be interconnected as part of the fourth phase of the Cyclades interconnections, plus the Dodecanese and northeast Aegean islands, until power grid operator IPTO has completed its interconnection projects linking all these regions with the mainland.

Development of these projects will need to be synchronized with power utility PPC’s gradual withdrawal of old power plants it operates on islands, when they experience functional issues. Spare parts for these units, now outdated, are difficult to find.

PPC intends to gradually withdraw 32 old power plants with a total capacity of approximately 50 MW from non-interconnected islands. The power utility will do likewise with old facilities on Crete.

New energy self-consumption framework within 1Q of ‘24

Posted on by admin

The country’s updated regulatory framework covering energy self-consumption has been included in REPowerEU revisions made by the energy ministry and will be activated by the issuance of a related ministerial decision expected within the first quarter of 2024.

The energy ministry will seek to have the ministerial decision issued before March, energypress sources informed.

The series of energy self-consumption revisions include a 100-KW net metering limit, from 3 MW, for large-scale enterprises.

In the lead-up, distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO stopped accepting grid connection applications for net-metering PVs with capacities of over 100 KW.

As a result, companies needing to install higher-capacity RES systems must wait for the launch of net-billing as a solution. It promises real-time self-generation along with the sale of surplus energy.

The new self-production framework will also enable companies not possessing free space for PV installations to utilize solar energy through virtual net-billing solutions, or offsite PVs situated in other regions.

 

Sub-station upgrades to maximize RES grid connections

Posted on by admin

Distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO is closely examining the country’s power grid to determine which sub-stations it will choose to upgrade, the objective being to offer grid links to a greater number of RES projects.

The operator also intends to upgrade sub-stations in areas where investment interest for RES installations is high.

Grid capacity limits are already exhausted in areas where RES development has been extensive, especially when concerning RES technologies other than photovoltaics.

As part of the upgrade, the operator intends to modernize all necessary equipment at each substation, the cost of which it considers manageable.

Also, the operator will carry out studies to determine necessary network interventions close to each substation, especially replacement of conductors with small cross sections.

All 4 second-round qualifiers submit bids for smart meters

Posted on by admin

All four final-round qualifiers in a tender being staged by Greek electricity distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO to offer a lucrative contract for the installation of 7.3 million smart meters throughout the country have submitted bids, indicating competition will be intense.

Greek company Protasis, partnering with France’s Sagemcom Energy & Telecom SAS; US corporation Itron’s Spanish subsidiary; fellow US firm Elster Rometrics’ Romanian subsidiary; and Slovenia’s Iskraemeco submitted technical and financial bids by a December 7 deadline that had been set by the operator.

The plan to install smart meters throughout the country, a project budgeted at 1.2 billion euros, ranks as one of Greece’s biggest projects of recent times.

The next stage of the tender will entail establishing an assessment committee that will examine the bids, their letters of guarantee, along with all technical and financial details. This evaluation process will require at least one month to be completed as the overall content amounts to several hundred pages.

The operator has also moved ahead with a supplementary tender to offer an additional contract for swifter installation of a smaller number of low-voltage smart meters, approximately 360,000 in total. The country’s authorities are seeking to have an initial batch of smart meters installed as soon as possible.

The four final-round qualifiers have been set a December 14 deadline for bids concerning this supplementary tender.

Besides offering multiple benefits for consumers, such as dynamic electricity tariffs, transparency and savings, smart meters will also offer the operator a digital map instantly locating technical faults and electricity-theft points.

Technology enabling offsite RES-injection cuts considered

Posted on by admin

The energy ministry is considering to promote more extensive use of remote technology that would enable distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO to cut and restrict grid injections of renewable energy output from offsite locations.

The plan would oblige both DEDDIE/HEDNO and PV units with capacities of over 400 KW to install remote systems enabling the operator to control RES production injected into the grid via offsite management.

At present, DEDDIE/HEDNO is able to remotely manage grid-injection curtailment for a RES portfolio of about 1.5 GW from approximately 5.8 GW in RES projects in operation. As for the remainder, cuts can currently only be made onsite by operator crews.

As part of the overall plan, the energy ministry intends to offer compensation packages to investors behind RES units that would be required to install remote technology systems for grid-injection cuts.

Project group to prepare framework for RES output cuts

Posted on by admin

A project management group recently founded by the energy ministry will, as its first task, prepare a recommendation for the ministry concerning the establishment of framework regulating green-energy output cuts over a long-term period, meeting the grid’s needs and further RES penetration for at least ten to fifteen years.

The group, led by head coordinator Stavros Papathanasiou, professor at the National Technical University of Athens, includes officials from the energy ministry, energy exchange, power grid operator IPTO, distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO, and RES market operator DAPEEP.

The proposed permanent framework is expected to distribute RES output cuts across various project categories.

The group will also consider whether RES projects not injecting output into the system should be compensated, under specific terms and conditions.