HEDNO

Compensation rules nearing for outage-affected electricity users

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Local authorities working on the country’s first ever framework offering compensation to electricity users affected by lengthy power cuts as a result of extreme weather conditions are edging closer towards finalizing their plan and forwarding it for approval.

RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, the entity working on the compensation plan, is expected to finalize its proposal next week, sources have informed.

Distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO will be held accountable for damages to electricity users caused by lengthy power disruptions, defined as over 72 hours long, according to the rules being prepared.

However, the compensation package will be limited to areas with up to one million power meters. This restriction excludes Athens, whose population is estimated at 3.1 million, from the compensation package.

Compensation amounts will be many times over distribution network fees paid by electricity users but will not exceed 2,000 euros, the sources informed.

This set of rules was proposed by DEDDIE/HEDNO in consultation staged last December. During this procedure, the operator had pointed out that it faces challenges to swiftly repair network faults as a result of a lack of equipment for identifying points where supply has been cut.

The operator, during this consultation procedure, also made note of the country’s low percentage of underground power lines, just 11 percent of the 240,000-km total, exposing most of the grid to the threat of damages and outages during adverse weather conditions.

The need for a compensation package covering electricity users arose following network damages that impacted numerous households and businesses during extreme weather events in recent times.

 

Power supply cuts up modestly in 2022 despite energy crisis

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Power supply cuts executed by distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO in 2022 increased by roughly 6,000 compared to 2021, a subdued rise given the ongoing energy crisis and increased energy costs for households.

The operator commended consumers for their ability to adjust to the extreme market conditions.

The number of consumers shifting suppliers in 2022 rose only slightly, to 588,000 customers, up from 555,000 in 2021, despite expectations of greater mobilization in 2022.

However, unrestricted usage, by consumers, of the country’s universal electricity supply service, covering the electricity needs of black-listed consumers who have been shunned by suppliers over payment failures, is a problem for the market, Dimitris Vranis, Director of the Network Users Department at DEDDIE/HEDNO told last week’s Power & Gas Forum in Athens.

The universal service’s current framework, offering consumers usage over limitless periods, has been loss-incurring for suppliers.

Consumer reliance on the universal electricity supply service, up 12 percent this year alone, has grown considerably in recent years. It is provided collectively – by law – by the electricity market’s top five suppliers, based on market share.

 

Landis+Gyr Supreme Court action for smart meters exit

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Swiss-headquartered group Landis+Gyr has scheduled a news conference for today to inform of the reasons behind its decision to legally challenge, at the Council of State, Greece’s Supreme Administrative Court, its disqualification from the final round of a tender staged by Greek electricity distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO for a lucrative one billion-euro contract concerning the installation of approximately 7.5 million smart meters throughout the country.

At today’s session, Landis+Gyr also plans to offer an update on the next steps it intends to take concerning the smart-meters tender and also inform on its overall strategy for the Greek market.

Landis+Gyr’s chief executive officer Werner Lieberherr and the head official of the group’s Greek subsidiary, Aristidis Pappas, have already suggested a Supreme Court setback for the Swiss group would jeopardize a multi-million-euro investment plan at its production plant in Corinth, west of Athens.

Landis+Gyr was disqualified from the tender by DEDDIE/HEDNO as it declared, as a sub-contractor, a production facility other than its Corinth plant, serving as an international hub for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Landis+Gyr took its case to the Council of State after a preliminary appeal was rejected by the Hellenic Single Public Procurement Authority.

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 have qualified for the tender’s final round.

Over the past decade or so, DEDDIE/HEDNO and parent company PPC, the power utility, have announced a series of tenders for the procurement and installation of smart meters, ultimately to no avail. They have either not taken place or not been completed.

HEDNO decides on voluntary exit plan with €20,000 bonus sum attached

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Distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO’s board has decided to offer employees aged 60 and above a voluntary exit package this year that includes bonus compensation pay of 20,000 euros.

This bonus sum will be offered to exiting staff members as long as certain prerequisites are met, in addition to a maximum amount of 15,000 euros required by law.

DEDDIE/HEDNO staff eligible for the bonus compensation amount will need to be aged 61 or over and have acquired pension rights; turn 60 years of age within 2023 and have acquired pension rights; or be aged 67 and backed by at least 15 years of employment at either DEDDIE/HEDNO or its parent company, power utility PPC.

Employees belonging to the first of these three categories will receive a bonus compensation amount of 20,000 euros if they voluntarily resign by July 31, 2023. As for the second and third categories, workers will receive the bonus compensation amount if they exit the company by December 31, 2023.

DEDDIE/HEDNO plans to soon begin procedures to recruit 1,400 new employees by June, the company’s chief executive, Anastasios Manos, has informed.

The employee renewal program is needed as the operator has undertaken network development projects for the coming years to support the country’s RES objectives, Manos has explained.

Just one staff renewal program has been carried out by DEDDIE/HEDNO between 2012 and 2019, which has resulted in 158 hirings but remains unfinished, the chief executive said.

Smart meters tender headed towards unchartered territory

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Swiss-headquartered group Landis+Gyr’s announcement highlighting it will pursue all available legal options in an effort to overturn its disqualification from the final round of a tender staged by Greek electricity distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO for a lucrative contract concerning the installation of approximately 7.5 million smart meters throughout the country, to replace the existing analog meters, appears to be directing the competitive procedure towards unchartered territory.

Over the past decade or so, DEDDIE/HEDNO and parent company PPC, the power utility, have announced a series of tenders for the procurement and installation of smart meters, ultimately to no avail. They have either not taken place or not been completed.

The Swiss-headquartered corporation was disqualified from the latest tender by the Greek operator as it had declared, as a sub-contractor, a production facility other than one it maintains in Corinth, west of Athens, which serves as an international hub for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Normally, a recent decision by the Hellenic Single Public Procurement Authority rejecting the Swiss group’s case would give DEDDIE/HEDNO the green light to move ahead with the next round of the tender.

This would entail forwarding technical specifications of the required new power meters as well as the IMR MDM (Meter Data Management System) to the procedure’s four qualifiers, 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.

Landis+Gyr is expected to decide on the next step of its legal recourse once it has received the full details, in writing, of its case’s rejection by the Hellenic Single Public Procurement Authority, expected to be delivered between mid and late March.

PPC maintains its low-voltage customer base in 2022

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Power utility PPC managed, more or less, to maintain its low-voltage customer base in 2022, whereas private-sector electricity suppliers made limited gains, fourth-quarter data on Greece’s retail electricity market published by distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO has shown.

PPC ended 2022 with approximately 4.96 million customers in the low-voltage category, just 53,000 less than its number of customers at the end of 2021, the operator’s data showed.

Private-sector electricity suppliers ended 2022 with just under 1.69 million customers in the low-voltage category, increasing their overall portfolio by only 31,000 compared to the end of 2021, according to the DEDDIE/HEDNO data.

In 2021, PPC lost a far greater number of low-voltage customers, an exodus numbering 255,000, while private-sector suppliers had gained approximately 305,000 customers, nearly ten times more than their marginal gain in 2022.

Ministry putting final touches to solar panel subsidies offer

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The energy ministry is finalizing the details of a subsidy program for roof-mounted solar panels to be made available to a total of 300,000 applicants – households, farmers, and businesses.

Pre-notification of the support program’s guidelines is expected to be released next week, barring unforeseen developments, so that interested parties may begin preparing their applications, energypress sources informed.

In addition, distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO has just about completed a platform simplifying net metering application procedures, so that interested parties may submit applications prior to the launch of the subsidy program for roof-mounted solar panels.

The subsidy program will need to be approved in Parliament as part of a draft bill also including other RES sector matters.

Speaking at an industry event yesterday, energy minister Kostas Skrekas noted that a 40 percent share of the subsidy program’s funds would be allocated for households, while farmers and businesses would each share 30 percent. This share of the funds means roughly 120,000 households, 90,000 farmers and 90,000 businesses will be eligible.

The ministry has increased the subsidy program’s total number of eligible parties to 300,000 from 250,000 as it opted to lower the program’s capacity limit for household roof-mounted solar systems to 7 KW from 10 KW, energypress sources informed.

 

Ministry draft bill for pending energy-sector issues this week

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The energy ministry intends to address a series of pending energy-sector issues this week by submitting to Parliament a draft bill carrying related legislative revisions.

Pending issues which the ministry is pushing to have resolved before the country’s next national election, to take place in spring, some time between April and May, include exempting power purchase agreements (PPAs) from a mechanism recovering windfall earnings of electricity producers. This would enable power utility PPC and energy-intensive industries to establish PPAs for lower-cost renewable energy supply to industry.

The details of this exemption were agreed to last week at a meeting involving officials representing the energy ministry, RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, the industrial sector and PPC.

Another top-priority matter on the energy ministry’s agenda is a plan to extend, beyond 2022, the ability of small-scale RES facilities to secure tariffs through administrative procedures instead of competitive procedures.

This revision is expected to enable solar energy facilities possessing capacities of up to 500 KW – and which have submitted connection term applications to distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO prior to the beginning of 2023 – to continue securing tariffs through administrative procedures.

The upcoming revisions could also include new terms permitting solar and wind energy units that have already secured fixed tariffs to participate in wholesale electricity markets on a temporary basis. This revision is imminent, the energy ministry’s secretary-general, Alexandra Sdoukou, told a recent event staged by SPEF, the Hellenic Association of Photovoltaic Energy Producers.

 

Ongoing legal cases threaten to delay smart meters tender

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Legal action taken by Greek company Protasis, one of four second-round qualifiers in a tender offering a lucrative contract for the installation of smart meters throughout Greece, against Swiss group Landis+Gyr, which took preceding legal action of its own against the market operator staging the tender as a response to its disqualification, threatens to further complicate the overall procedure.

A verdict on the Landis+Gyr case is expected to be delivered on February 28. As things have turned out, distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO, staging the tender, has found an ally in Protasis in its battle against Landis+Gyr.

The Swiss-headquartered corporation was disqualified from the tender by the Greek operator as it had declared, as a sub-contractor, a production facility other than one it maintains in Corinth, west of Athens, which serves as an international hub for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

In its legal case against Landis+Gyr, Protasis supports the exact same claim made by DEDDIE/HEDNO in its decision to eliminate the Swiss company.

According to sources, if Landis+Gyr is not vindicated in its ongoing legal battle, it is prepared to take all legal means available to rejoin the tender’s shortlist, meaning the company may go all the way to the Council of State, Greece’s supreme administrative court. It appears Protasis could do the same if its legal case against Landis+Gyr is not successful.

Given such possibilities, the DEDDIE/HEDNO tender is headed for big delays of at least three to six months, maybe even a year.

Besides Protasis, three other participants have qualified for the second round of the DEDDIE/HEDNO tender, these being US corporation Itron’s Spanish subsidiary, fellow US firm Elster Rometrics, and Slovenia’s Iskraemeco.

The tender is offering a contract for the installation of approximately 7.5 million smart meters throughout the country over a ten-year period, a project budgeted at 830 million euros.

 

HEDNO: Grid capacity boost of 5 GW by 2025 for RES units

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Distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO plans to increase the network’s capacity by 5 GW to 13.5 GW by 2025 to facilitate RES output, Dimitris Vranis, the operator’s Director of the Network Users Division, has told an industry event in Thessaloniki.

The capacity goal set in the revised National Energy and Climate Plan for 2030 would, as a result, be exceeded, noted Vranis, while offering his views on the progress of PV and energy storage unit licensing at an annual event staged by POSPIEF, the Pan-Hellenic Federation of Photovoltaic Producer Societies.

A 25-GW objective has been set by the NECP for RES penetration by 2030, the official said.

Considering that half the RES units to be involved in this further penetration are expected to concern low and medium-voltage connections, the distribution network will need to be able to host projects representing 12.5 GW.

Given this projection, the operator’s aim for a distribution network capacity increase to 13.5 GW by 2025 exceeds the aforementioned capacity needed by 8 percent.

In addition, between 2025 and 2030, DEDDIE/HEDNO plans to further boost the network’s capacity by 2 GW, increasing it to 15.5 GW, Vranis told the POSPIEF event.

At present, RES facilities representing a total capacity of 6.5 GW are linked to the distribution network, the DEDDIE/HEDNO official noted.

Some 7,000 small-scale RES projects representing a total capacity of approximately 2 GW are now being developed, most of these PVs, while 5,300 units are privately owned and represent a capacity of roughly 400 MW, Vranis noted.

 

HEDNO awaiting Landis+Gyr verdict for smart meters tender 2nd round

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Distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO is awaiting the outcome of legal action taken by Swiss group Landis+Gyr following its disqualification from a tender for the installation of smart meters in Greece before it proceeds with the procedure’s second round.

The Landis+Gyr case is expected to be heard by the Authority for the Examination of Preliminary Appeals (AEPP) next week, on February 8, according to energypress sources. The outcome of the case will determine how the tender plays out, including whether further legal action could be taken by the Swiss-headquartered corporation.

The tender is offering a lucrative contract for the installation of approximately 7.5 million smart throughout the country over a ten-year period, a project budgeted at 830 million euros.

Once the situation concerning the Swiss group has been clarified, DEDDIE/HEDNO will forward, to the tender’s participants, second-round terms concerning smart-meter technical specifications as well as software specifications.

Landis+Gyr is said to have been disqualified from the DEDDIE/HEDNO tender as it had declared, as a sub-contractor, a plant other than one it maintains in Corinth, west of Athens, which serves as an international hub for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

As previously reported by energypress, four participants have qualified for the second round of the DEDDIE/HEDNO tender, these being US corporation Itron’s Spanish subsidiary, fellow US firm Elster Rometrics, Slovenia’s Iskraemeco, and Greek company Protasis.

Besides Landis+Gyr, Denmark’s Netcompany Intrasoft and Italy’s Gridspertise also failed to advance to the next stage of the DEDDIE/HEDNO tender.

HEDNO €2.2bn investments for 2022-26 feature 139 projects

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Distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO’s five-year investment plan for 2022 to 2026, budgeted at 2.2 billion euros, will focus on digital transformation and modernization, as well as an upgrade of the electricity distribution network and its services, the operator has announced in a text just posted by RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, for consultation.

The investment plan includes a total of 139 sub-projects, including 71 worth 255.71 million euros for network reinforcement work.

Other entries include 32 sub-projects with a total budget of 437.91 million euros for network replacement and restoration work, as well as 525.22 million euros for the installation of telemetry systems.

Also, a sum of 481 million euros is planned to be used for projects such as the construction of new transmission and distribution sub-stations required, as well as reinforcement of existing such units, prompted by new grid-user connections or a shift in the requirements of existing users, both producers and consumers, following related applications. This category also includes street lighting projects.

 

PPC’s ENEL Romania takeover talks at price under local standards

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Power utility PPC appears to have reached an advanced stage in its negotiations with Italy’s ENEL for the acquisition of the latter’s Romanian subsidiary ENEL Romania, the various aspects of the deal said to be at price levels well below Greek market standards.

PPC’s offer for ENEL Romania’s retail division, for example, totaling approximately three million customers, results in a price of less than 90 euros per customer, which is less than half than the cost of recent corresponding acquisitions completed in the Greek market.

Mytilineos’ acquisition of Watt+Volt, an energy supplier with a portfolio numbering 200,000 customers, was worth 36 million euros, or 180 euros per customer.

The ENEL Romania deal’s price concerning networks is also being negotiated at a price level well below the cost of corresponding acquisitions recently completed in Greece. The price paid by Australia’s Macquarie for a 49 percent stake in Greek distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO works out to 20 percent over the level being discussed between PPC and ENEL for ENEL Romania’s networks.

The same goes for the Romanian subsidiary’s renewable energy division. For example, Motor Oil acquired ELTECH Anemos for a figure twelve times its EBITDA, whereas the Romanian subsidiary’s RES portfolio is being negotiated at a price level of less than ten times its EBITDA.

PPC is negotiating a full acquisition of ENEL Romania for a takeover promising to expand the Greek utility’s interests in the Balkans, with the region’s fastest-growing economy as a base.

 

Four entrants make 2nd round of HEDNO smart meters tender

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Electricity distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO has shortlisted four of seven first-round participants in a tender offering a lucrative contract for the installation of approximately 7.5 million smart throughout the country, to replace the existing analog meters.

An additional contestant could be added to the list of second-round qualifiers if Swiss company Landis+Gyr is vindicated in a legal case it filed following its failure to reach the second round. A verdict is expected within the next three to four months.

The four bidder through to the tender’s second round are: Itron Spain SLU, the Spanish subsidiary of leading American meters producer Itron, joined by Spain’s ZIV Aplicaciones y Tecnologia SL, a maker of modems and related equipment; the Romanian subsidiary of American meters producer Elster Rometrics SRL, a member of the Honeywell group, along with Intracom SA Telecoms Solutions and Elster Gmbh; Slovenia’s Iskraemeco, with France’s Oracle France SAS; and Greece’s Protasis SA, joined by French company Sagemcom Energy & Telecom SAS, the main supplier of France’s Enedis.

Besides Switzerland’s Landis+Gyr, a multinational with facilities including a factory in Corinth, west of Athens, the two other participants not through to the second round are: Italy’s Gridspertise Srl, which was joined by Bitron Poland Sp Z.oo for the DEDDIE/HEDNO tender; and Denmark’s Netcompany Intarsoft SA – it took over Intrasoft in 2021 – which bid along with Sweden’s Ningbo Sanxing Electric, Poland’s Foxytech Sp Z.o.o, and Vodafone Panafon Hellenic Telecommunications Company SA.

DEDDIE/HEDNO plans to have the upgrade’s 7.5 million or so smart meters installed over a ten-year period. The project is budgeted at 830 million euros.

The new smart meters will provide consumers with real-time information on the kilowatt-hours they use; consumption records, via home devices or web applications; as well as varying supplier tariff levels, all of which will help consumers become more energy-efficient for lower energy costs.

In addition, smart meters will help DEDDIE/HEDNO identify technical problems in the grid, enabling swifter repair of damages.  

Operator decides on 2nd round qualifiers for smart meters

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Electricity distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO has shortlisted the second-round qualifiers in a tender awarding a contract for the installation of approximately 7.5 million smart throughout the country, to replace the existing analog meters, energypress sources have informed.

The DEDDIE/HEDNO board yesterday approved the shortlist of second-round qualifiers, roughly one-third of the original field of seven candidates.

The companies disqualified failed to meet procedural requirements or quality standards, the sources noted.

Interested parties faced a mid-June deadline to submit applications to the tender. The operator’s appraisal of first-round applications required considerable time as participants were called upon to clarify various details.

The tender’s first-round participants were: US-based Itron; Switzerland’s Landis+Gyr; Elster, now a member of international group Honeywell; Protasis, a Greek firm operating in Greece as a representative of French company Sagemcom; Slovenia-based Iskraemeco; Gridspertise, founded in 2021 by Italian group Enel to market the group’s smart network technology; and Intrasoft International, which became a member of Danish-headquartered IT group Netcompany last year.

DEDDIE/HEDNO plans to complete the project by 2030. Its cost is budgeted at 829 million euros. The upgrade will offer immediate benefits, which have been evaluated at 223 million euros in the first year alone, in 2031.

 

Less red tape for net-metering PV installations

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The energy ministry has set as a priority to simplify the bureaucratic procedure households and businesses must go through to install solar panels for net metering purposes, before it launches a subsidy program for over 250,000 such installations, as it has announced.

Officials at the energy ministry and distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO are currently finalizing legal revisions needed to simplify the procedure for net-metering solar panel installations.

The country’s political leadership has asked officials working on the matter to abolish the need for any unnecessary supporting documents and make the procedure as simple as possible for applicants.

The objective is to simplify the procedure down to a level requiring just a few steps, all online.

The distribution network operator has made available 10 MW at each of its sub-stations to facilitate grid entry for the forthcoming subsidy program’s solar power systems to be installed for net metering purposes.

The government is expected to publish guidelines for the subsidy program early in 2023.

 

Subsidies guideline for PV net-metering units in early January

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The energy ministry plans to deliver, early in 2023, guidelines concerning a prospective subsidy program offering support to at least 250,000 small-scale solar panel installations by households, farmers and businesses for net metering purposes.

A starting date for applications by interested parties, once the guidelines have been released, has yet to be set. Prospective applicants are expected to be given sufficient time to study the subsidy program’s details before the starting date for applications.

The subsidy program, budgeted at 700 million euros, is expected to offer support for at least 100,000 solar panel installations by households as well as 75,000 installations by small businesses and that many more by farmers.

According to energypress sources, the precise subsidy amounts to be distributed to each of the three categories has yet to be determined.

Government officials have indicated they are planning to offer top-tier subsidies of as much as 60 percent for solar energy project installations combining energy storage systems. Minimum subsidy levels are likely to be as low as 15 percent.

Distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO has made available capacity for these net-metering PV projects by freeing up 10-MW capacities at each of its sub-stations.

 

 

 

Net-metering PV installation subsidy details by month’s end

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The details of a subsidy program concerning small-scale PVs installations for net-metering purposes by households, farmers and businesses will be finalized within the next few days, Alexandra Sdoukou, the energy ministry’s secretary-general, has told the 5th Athens Investment Forum.

Prenotification of the plan, expected to subsidize no less than 250,000 PV installations, will be delivered by the end of November to inform interested parties and also enable improvements if constructive proposals are made.

PV installations for at least 100,000 households, 75,000 small-scale businesses and 75,000 farmers are expected to be subsidized through the forthcoming program.

Distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO has freed up capacities of 10 MW at each of its substations to facilitate new grid connections to result from the subsidy program’s PV installations.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced the subsidy program concerning small-scale PVs installations for net-metering purposes at the Thessaloniki International Fair last September.

 

 

 

Growing number of investors complain about faulty online auction procedure

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Investors who were unable to participate, due to technical glitches, in an online procedure staged by distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO on October 21 for solar energy unit capacities to help resolve the saturated Peloponnese network have been filing a growing number of complaints.

A variety of online platform issues, including a dysfunctional drop-down menu list, the system’s block of information participants were expected to upload, as well as frequent server disconnections, meant that bidders were unable to submit bids before the procedure’s deadline.

Roof-mounted solar panel application procedure to be simplified

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The energy ministry is working on simplifying an application procedure for roof-mounted solar energy systems, ahead of a related subsidy program, by reducing the amount of supporting documents needed by interested parties and shortening the overall process, energypress sources have informed.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis had first announced the procedure would be simplified during his speech at the annual Thessaloniki International Fair in early September.

The ministry’s revisions will seek to reduce to a minimum the number of supporting documents needed by applicants and spare them of the need to resort to civil engineers to obtain some of the needed documents.

The aim is to establish an online procedure for applicants. Energy ministry officials are currently collaborating with DEDDIE/HEDNO, the distribution network operator, to finalize the revised list of supporting documents needed as well as the new procedure.

A subsidy program covering as much as 60 percent of the total cost for roof-mounted solar energy systems will soon be offered, Alexandra Sdoukou, the energy ministry’s secretary-general, told the recent Renewable & Storage Forum, staged by energypress.

Supplier consumer shifts grind to virtual halt in 3rd quarter

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Consumer shifts from one electricity supplier to another grinded to a virtual halt in the third quarter of this year, independent suppliers gaining a total of just 1,440 household and small-business customers during the three-month period, compared to the previous quarter, data provided by distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO has shown.

Power utility PPC, the dominant market player, increased its number of household and small business customers by a 850 in the third quarter compared to the previous quarter.

This means that the individual fluctuations of alternative suppliers were caused by movements between private companies.

At the end of September, independent suppliers represented 1.68 million low-voltage customers, while PPC represented approximately 4.97 million.

Zenith gained the biggest number of customers in the third quarter, the company’s rise exceeding 17,000. Heron, Aerio Attikis and Elpedison also gained customers during this period, 7,700, 4,200 and 2,300, respectively. Volton suffered the greatest loss of customers, 13,600, according to the DEDDIE/HEDNO data.

Protergia topped the list of independent players with approximately 287,000 low-voltage customers, followed by Elpedison (276,000) and Heron (249,000), the DEDDIE/HEDNO figures showed.

 

Solid investment interest for hybrid RES systems on islands

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Greece’s non-interconnected islands, not including Crete, require hybrid RES systems with a total capacity of between 80 MW and 100 MW, according to a distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO estimate, announced by an operator official at an energy storage event.

Theodora Patsaka, head of DEDDIE/HEDNO’s Island Management Division, also told the event that investment interest is high for such green projects on non-interconnected islands. Investor applications submitted to the operator – before licensing framework revisions – represent a total of 80 MW, she noted.

Hybrid RES systems promise to resolve a series of issues encountered by DEDDIE/HEDNO as operator of the non-interconnected islands, the official noted. Besides offering energy storage solutions, hybrid RES systems will enable full utilization.

A total of 28 electricity systems on the islands have disparities, such as varying electricity demand levels, Patsaka pointed out, while demand levels on the islands differ greatly in winter and summer, increasing the difficulty and cost of ensuring energy sufficiency all year round, she added.

The energy ministry, as a next step to the European Commission’s approval of an operational support scheme for hybrid RES systems, must now complete a related pricing framework, which will unlock the selection process concerning projects to be installed on respective islands, Patsaka added.

Demand response aggregators part of energy saving strategy

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The use of demand response green aggregators in power grid operator IPTO auctions, as part of the effort to reduce electricity consumption by 5 percent, a European Commission requirement to be introduced December 1 for all EU member states, was one of the tools discussed at a broad energy ministry meeting focused on establishing an energy-saving strategy ahead of the requirement.

Besides energy ministry officials, the meeting, staged last Friday, also involved representatives of RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, IPTO, distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO and the country’s five licensed aggregators.

In Greece, electricity usage restrictions will be imposed from 6pm-9pm on weekdays, with an additional hour, either between 9am and 10am or 9pm and 10 pm. Weekend restrictions may also be enforced to help achieve the 5 percent electricity consumption cut.

 

‘Stricter enforcement of RES project development plans’

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Stricter enforcement of project development schedules for prospective RES units holding connection terms is required, while licenses need to be revoked if project deadlines are not met, power grid operator IPTO deputy president Giannis Margaris has underlined at an energy storage event in Athens.

The official also stressed the need, from now on, for RES units with integrated energy storage facilities, a combination that would enable a greater number of renewable energy projects to be installed and increase the grid’s ability to absorb their output.

As for energy injection restrictions that will be imposed on RES stations and energy storage stations, the IPTO deputy revealed that a relevant study and proposal by the operator will be submitted to the energy ministry within the next few days.

Margaris reiterated the problem of potential saturation faced by the grid, noting Greece’s current installed RES capacity totals 10 GW (5.5 GW – distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO, 4.5 GW – IPTO), plus 11.5 GW in connection term offers.

The resulting total sum is nearly 22 GW, while IPTO’s ten-year development plan envisages 28 GW by 2030, including capacity being created on islands through interconnection projects, Margaris explained, adding that the National Energy and Climate Plan puts the grid capacity objective at 25 GW by 2030, meaning just 3 GW of available capacity remains, despite the strong level of investor interest.

 

RAE proceeding with legislative steps for energy storage

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RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, is examining a further step in legislative preparations for energy storage’s induction into the country’s grid, the authority’s president Athanasios Dagoumas has told an IENE (Institute of Energy for Southeast Europe) conference on “Electricity storage and grid management for maximum RES penetration”.

The authority is looking to proceed with an energy storage formula for distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO and power grid operator IPTO, concerning energy storage services such as ancillary services and congestion management.

Up until July this year, RAE had issued a total of 337 licenses representing a capacity of 23.5 GW, concerning storage projects, purely, as well as hybrid projects – combining storage with RES – and pumped storage units.

The vast majority of these RAE licenses concern pure storage units and were issued between January, 2021 and July, 2022.

Investors behind the projects have, as a result of newer legislation, been requested to resubmit supporting documents for older licenses in order to have them renewed.

Many of these investors have already provided the necessary documents and are awaiting license renewals, while RAE is believed to be preparing a great percentage of these, sources informed.

Monthly auctions for industrial energy-saving compensation

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Industrial consumers – high and medium-voltage – will be offered energy-saving incentives through monthly auctions offering compensation for bids with the lowest compensation levels, it has been decided at an extraordinary meeting yesterday involving the energy ministry, RAE (Regulatory Authority for Energy), distribution network operator HEDNO/DEDDIE and power grid operator IPTO.

The session was staged ahead of tomorrow’s meeting of EU energy ministers, whose agenda will include talks for the establishment of a formula reducing electricity usage.

The European Commission has prepared a plan for 5 percent reduction of electricity consumption during peak hours, but, following negotiations over the past few days, this reduction rate could be cut to 3 percent. Member states are expected to seek flexible terms.

Electricity consumption restrictions, in Greece, between 6pm and 9pm are seen as a certainty following yesterday’s meeting of Greek officials. Also, an additional hour during non-peak hours will most likely be introduced, but it remains unclear whether this hour will be set in the morning, from 9am to 10am, or in the evening, from 9pm to 10pm.

Time limit for universal electricity supply service

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RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, has, according to sources, received orders from the energy ministry to impose a time limit on the period consumers can rely on a universal electricity supply service, covering the needs of black-listed consumers reported by suppliers for electricity-bill payment failures.

At present, usage of the universal electricity supply service by consumers with outstanding electricity bills has no limit, but higher tariffs are charged for the service.

It is provided by the country’s five biggest electricity suppliers, in terms of retail market share, who share the pool of old and new unwanted customers and provide the universal supply service.

Recent market data showed an increasing trend in the number of households resorting to the universal electricity supply service.

RAE has proposed the establishment of a collective debt-flagging system, which would be maintained by distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO, based on consumer appraisals provided by electricity retailers.

Consumers who continue to not pay electricity bills through the universal electricity supply service will face electricity supply cuts, under the proposed revision.

 

 

HEDNO plans 800-MW network boost to facilitate RES projects

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Distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO is planning a series of significant network upgrades to facilitate new RES project additions to the grid through the availability of an additional 800-MW capacity over the next few years.

Many of these network upgrades, set to commence, are investments that will be co-funded by Greece 2.0, the National Recovery and Resilience Facility.

DEDDIE/HEDNO stands to receive 30 million euros from the RRF for capacity upgrades at selected medium and high-voltage substations around the country, either through transformer additions or full replacements.

Many of the operator’s prospective network upgrades are expected to be completed over the next 12 months, energypress sources have informed. All operator upgrades inducted into the RRF are planned to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2025.

The capacity of substations in the Peloponnese and Epirus regions is planned to be boosted by 250 megavolt-amperes, the wider Athens area will get a 100-MVA boost, substations in central Greece are expected to receive a 200-MVA lift, while substations in the country’s Macedonia and Thrace regions are headed for a 250-MVA capacity boost.

Seven international players meet smart meters tender deadline

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A total of seven major international players have expressed non-binding, first-round interest in a new tender staged by distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO for procurement and installation of digital power meters around the country.

The operator launched this new tender after its previous procedure, launched eight years ago, ended up being brought to a standstill by legal battles fought between rival bidders.

The seven companies that met the new procedure’s first-round deadline, which expired last Friday following five extensions granted to interested parties, are: US-based Itron; Switzerland’s Landis+Gyr; Elster, now a member of international group Honeywell; Protasis, a Greek firm operating in Greece as a representative of French company Sagemcom; Slovenia-based Iskraemeco; Gridspertise, founded in 2021 by Italian group Enel to market the group’s smart network technology; and Intrasoft International, which became a member of Danish-headquartered IT group Netcompany last year.

First-round offers are planned to be opened at midday today, setting in motion their appraisal.

The project, entailing the installation of approximately 7.5 million smart meters in Greece, is expected to be completed in 2030 and its budget is estimated at 830 million euros.

 

Smart meter first-round tender deadline extended until Friday

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Distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO has extended, until this Friday, the first-round deadline of its new tender concerning procurement and installation of digital power meters around the country.

The operator decided on the extension, the fifth to be offered to interested parties since the tender’s launch earlier this year, following requests made by major players, believed to be interested in the project.

The project, entailing the installation of approximately 7.5 million smart meters, is expected to be completed in 2030 and its budget is estimated at 830 million euros.

American, European and Asian firms are said to be interested. At least seven major international players are reportedly considering DEDDIE/HEDNO’s tender for smart meters in Greece. These are: US company Honeywell, Germany’s Siemens, France’s Schneider Electric, the UK’s Sagemcom, Italy’s Itron, Slovenia’s Iscra Emeco and Switzerland’s Landis+Gyr, which has transferred its production lines to the factory of its Greek subsidiary in Corinth, west of Athens.

A number of these candidates are expected to establish partnerships with Greek companies for the DEDDIE/HEDNO tender.

DEDDIE/HEDNO launched this new tender after its previous procedure, launched several years ago, was eventually brought to a standstill as a result of legal battles between rival bidders.