Pending revision stopping supplier surcharge returns

A decision by the energy ministry to return a supplier surcharge amount worth approximately 120 million euros to electricity suppliers as a result of a RES special account surplus in 2018 has yet to be executed because a legislative revision needed following a RES market operator name change from LAGIE to DAPEEP has yet to drafted and ratified.

These surcharge returns to suppliers are not expected to happen any time soon and will most certainly not be incorporated into first-half financial figures, according to sources.

As the dominant electricity retailer, the main power utility PPC expects to receive the bulk of this total, estimated at 100 million euros.

A law enabling the surcharge return to suppliers was ratified before the name change at the RES market operator and does not include its new title as DAPEEP.

RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, has refused to take any steps unless this complication is resolved.

The surcharge returns to be returned to suppliers for 2018 total 121.12 million euros following the deduction of a 70 million-euro safety reserve required by law.

Calculations also still need to be made concerning pending smaller amounts of previous years.

The overall delay has further unsettled RES producers, experiencing increased payment delays for their output since last summer.

Costlier wholesale price mulled for exported NOME electricity

NOME auction participants will not face any quantitative or post-purchase usage restrictions concerning electricity amounts bought at auctions but will need to cover a higher System Marginal Price (SMP), the official electricity wholesale price, for amounts found to have been exported by follow-up checks, according to a proposal expected to soon be forwarded by LAGIE, the Electricity Market Operator.

It is believed that the European Commission, which has objected to the imposition of export limits on NOME amounts, would endorse such a plan.

Certain electricity suppliers, especially traders possessing supply licenses but no – or virtually no – customer bases, have been buying considerable amounts of lower-priced electricity at NOME auctions for export, a practice offering wide profit margins given the higher electricity prices secured abroad.

Such export-minded participants are pushing NOME auction prices higher for independent suppliers seeking lower-cost wholesale electricity prices at the auctions to compete against the still-dominant power utility PPC in the Greek market.

PPC faces retail electricity market share contraction targets of 62.24 percent by the end of 2018 and 49.24 percent by the end of 2019. The power utility’s market share, which has contracted at a slower-than-required rate, remains at a level of around 80 percent. The issue is expected to be tabled for discussion by lender technocrats, now back in Athens.

Five firms to face hearings over NOME export suspicions

Five power supply firms that had purchased electricity amounts disproportionate to their retail market shares at previous NOME auctions have been summoned to hearings by RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy.

The authority reached this decision yesterday, on the eve of today’s latest NOME auction, to determine whether the five firms have acquired electricity amounts bigger than their domestic market needs in order to export excess amounts either directly or indirectly, via traders. If so, fines could be imposed.

Even though export limits implemented in the past have been lifted following a demand by the country’s lenders, RAE continues to view the NOME auctions as a tool for supporting competition and shifting retail electricity market shares from the still-dominant power utility PPC to independent suppliers.

NOME auctions offer third parties access to PPC’s lower-cost lignite and hydropower sources.

“Anybody contravening this principle is breaking the rules and needs to offer explanations,” a RAE official told energypress.

LAGIE, the Electricity Market Operator, has eliminated two firms, OTE and Eunice, from today’s NOME auction for insufficient provision of electricity load data.

Both OTE and Eunice described their eliminations as unfair and declared they would appeal. But LAGIE appears determined to send out a strict message to all participants that NOME irregularities will not be tolerated.

It is believed traders will bid aggressively at today’s auction for electricity amounts to be exported to markets where wholesale electricity prices are higher.

Aggressive bidding by export-minded traders would force local suppliers to purchase NOME electricity amounts at higher prices offering narrower profit margins for supply activity in the local market.

Officials fear the increasing cost of CO2 emission rights and elevated wholesale electricity prices around Europe could also play a role in lifting bidding prices at today’s auction.

A starting price of 36.34 euros per MWh has been set for today’s session, up from the previous level of 32.05 euros per MWh.

A planned phasing out of the auctions in accordance with PPC’s bailout-required disinvestment of lignite units, as well as an uncertainty surrounding the auctions following the target model’s implementation, are other factors expected to impact today’s session and motivate participants to bid hard to acquire the biggest possible electricity amounts.

 

Greek energy exchange set to be established by Monday

The Greek energy exchange company will most likely be founded on Monday though there is a light chance of the procedure being completed by tomorrow.

Procedures concerning the new company’s registration at the General Commercial Registry (GEMI), the single electronic commercial registry, are expected to be finalized tomorrow.

LAGIE, the Electricity Market Operator, is scheduled to hold a general meeting today to formalize decisions concerning the energy exchange company’s establishment.

LAGIE, IPTO, the power grid operator and DESFA, the natural gas grid operator, are expected to participate in the new company with an overall 49 percent stake, while private-sector enterprises, including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Athens Stock Exchange, the new exchange’s main shareholder, will control a majority 51 percent stake.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange, which has agreed to participate with a ten percent stake, will not be present at this initial stage as Cypriot parliament has yet to approve its involvement. This ten percent stake will be temporarily held by the Athens Stock Exchange and transferred to its Cypriot counterpart at a future date.

Subsequently, the starting shareholders line-up of Greece’s energy exchange will be comprised of three institutions, LAGIE (22%); IPTO (20%); and DESFA (7%), and, from the private sector, the Athens Stock Exchange (31%) and the EBRD (20%).

The participation of independent producers as shareholders of Greece’s energy exchange is not anticipated for now, but such a prospect cannot be ruled out in the future.

Greece’s energy exchange is planned to begin operating next April. In the meantime, the new company will need to be certified by RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, as a market operator for the transitional period leading to the implementation of the target model, envisioning market coupling, or harmonization of EU wholesale markets.

 

Energy exchange establishment June 18, LAGIE approval today

Today’s anticipated approval by the LAGIE (Electricity Market Operator) board of a new subsidiary will mark the beginning of a 40-day process – approximately – leading to the notarization of the energy exchange company’s establishment on June 18, if all goes according to plan.

Following today’s LAGIE endorsement, the new company will be registered at the General Commercial Registry (GEMI), the single electronic commercial registry.

A compulsory one-month waiting period will follow before a LAGIE general meeting is held on June 15 to formalize decisions on various related matters that will have already been resolved going into the meeting.

Any problems that may be encountered by prospective energy exchange company shareholders will be indentified and resolved by the June 15 date, according to the overall procedure’s schedule.

Any interested parties with issues will be excluded and the energy exchange company will be established with all legitimate candidates on board.

A combination of market operators and private-sector enterprises, numbering six in total, are expected to make up the energy exchange’s shareholder line-up. LAGIE (22%); IPTO, the power grid operator (20%); and DESFA, the natural gas grid operator (7%); are expected to be joined by three private-sector companies, the Athens Stock Market (21%); EBRD (21%); and the Cyprus Stock Exchange (10%).

The private sector companies will need to control at least 51 percent of the new energy exchange company as a means of ensuring it steers clear of various bailout-related staff and flexibility restrictions imposed on public-sector enterprises.

All the aforementioned prospective shareholders will most likely be ready to sign the energy exchange’s founding act on June 18. If not, the company will be established with all legitimate contenders. The private sector’s overall majority stake will be maintained in this case, too.

Then, within a three-month period following its establishment, the Energy Exchange will need to be certified by RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, as a market operator for the transition period leading to the implementation of the target model.

The target model envisions market coupling, or harmonization of EU wholesale markets.

 

SEV energy top officials call for fairer industry conditions

The uneven implementation of a measure compensating carbon emission right costs, delays in adjusting to EU directives, and the weight of a supplier surcharge are seriously threatening the level of competitiveness of Greece’s energy-intensive industrial enterprises, the energy committee heads at SEV, the Hellenic Association of Industrialists, have stressed.

Distortions affecting the carbon emission right offsetting measure are burdening the industrial sector with additional energy costs of more than 50 million euros, the SEV energy committee leaders, Evangelos Mytilineos, CEO at the Mytilineous corporate group, and Titan cement’s chief Dimitris Papalexopoulos, stressed in a joint letter.

It was forwarded to energy minister Giorgos Stathakis, deputy prime minister Yiannis Dragasakis and Mihalis Filippou, the head of LAGIE, the Electricity Market Operator.

Carbon emission right compensation amounts for the industrial sector are based on average emission right price costs of the previous year, whereas the main power utility PPC is applying emission right price levels of the previous month. This has led to a huge discrepancy in compensation amounts offered as, in 2017, the average emission price cost was 5.7 euros per ton while the price level in late February ranged between 13 and 14 euros per ton.

The heads of SEV’s energy committee called for the energy ministry and LAGIE to fully resort to existing laws, at national and EU levels, to resolve the matter.

The RES-supporting supplier surcharge is causing serious problems for the industrial sector, the SEV energy committee leaders also noted in their letter. The surcharge has hindered competition in the retail electricity market and also represents another setback affecting the industrial sector’s level of competititiveness, the officials noted.

 

Energy exchange equity line-up issues delaying preparations

Problems encountered by candidate shareholders of Greece’s prospective energy exchange in their efforts to legalize their participation in the venture are causing set-up delays, energypress sources have informed.

LAGIE, the Electricity Market Operator, has been given a 15-day extension to submit a Greek energy exchange investment plan to RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, by the end of the month.

The operator will then need to stage a general meeting to endorse the new exchange. Its founding act needs to be ready within May, according to a bailout term faced by Greece.

LAGIE envisions an energy exchange shareholder line-up of the power and gas grid operators, IPTO and DEFSA, respectively, itself, as well as private-sector institutions, namely the Cyprus stock exchange, the EBRD, and the Athens Stock Exchange, the venture’s main shareholder.

According to a related law, the private sector will control at least 51 percent of the new energy exchange company as a means of ensuring it steers clear of obstacles and restrictions concerning flexibility and staffing at public-sector enterprises.

If the current complications faced by prospective shareholders are not overcome, then a simpler company may be founded, with the Athens Stock Exchange controlling 51 percent and LAGIE the other 49 percent, as an initial step to avoid missing the deadline, before other institutional shareholders eventually also hop on board.

As part of the transition leading to the implementation of the target model, RAE will need to certify the firm as a market operator within three months of its establishment.

The target model envisions market coupling, or harmonization of EU wholesale markets.

 

 

 

 

Supplier surcharge to be reduced by 35% for rest of year

The energy ministry has reached a decision to reduce the RES-supporting supplier surcharge by 35 percent for the rest of 2018, energypress sources have informed.

This reduction is greater than a drop of between 20 to 25 percent that had been anticipated, primarily as a result of the steady RES special account surplus and the reduced number of months the revision will concern as a result of the delay in implementing the measure.

A legislative revision to bring the reduction into effect may coincide with Greek parliament’s ratification, expected soon, of a draft bill for the main power utility PPC’s bailout-required sale of lignite units.

The extent of the supplier surcharge reduction is based on a number of factors, including the RES special account’s surplus for 2018, as projected by LAGIE, the Electricity Market Operator; the amount of the RES-supporting ETMEAR surcharge that needs to be recovered for previous years; an ETMEAR reduction decided on by RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, at the end of 2017; as well as the need for a RES-sector safety cushion of around 50 to 60 million euros.

The government had committed to a supplier surcharge reduction as part of the bailout’s third-review agreement with the lenders. According to this  agreement, the reduction should have been implemented by the end of March.

The country’s lenders made clear that the ETMEAR reduction decided by RAE represents a breach of bailout terms and needs to be corrected by the authority when it makes its next revision for the second half of 2018.

The energy ministry opposed RAE’s move to reduce the ETMEAR surcharge as it knew the lenders would not embrace the initiave.

Greek officials need to decide on the supplier surcharge for 2019 by the end of this year. The government has promised it will abolish the surcharge and replace it with an alternative mechanism.

Lower international prices prompt decline in electricity exports

Latest market data released by LAGIE, the Electricity Market Operator, for January has confirmed a reduced interest, observed recently, for electricity exports through the country’s interconnections.

Electricity exports from Greece to neighboring countries fell considerably in January compared to December as well as January last year, both in terms of daily averages and monthly totals.

The subdued electricity export activity can be attributed to the electricity price drop in international markets.

This explains why local traders seeking export opportunities expressed little interest in the year’s first NOME auction, staged earlier this month.

 

 

 

Brussels, troubled by target model delays, sending experts for support

The European Commission, showing signs of disaffection over delays in the implementation of regulation revisions linked to the target model, crucial to the country’s electricity market reforms, has decided to send a team of technocrats to Athens for technical support in an effort to swiften procedures, energypress sources have informed.

A two-month delay in code reforms being processed by LAGIE, the Electricity Market Operator, and IPTO, the power grid operator, following a related legislative approval in December, has prompted these concerns in Brussels.

According to sources in Brussels, the European Commission fears these delays could derail proceedings concerning the target model, aiming to harmonize Greece’s electricity wholesale market with EU standards.

The visiting technocrats will offer their expertise in an effort to push ahead the related developments currently seen drifting between LAGIE, IPTO, as well as RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy.

Brussels officials believe this intervention is necessary in order to prevent reaching a situation, a few months from now, that would require target model deadlines to be rescheduled.

Late last month, LAGIE announced the results of a public consultation procedure for the target model codes, which need to be adjusted to the demands of legislation concerning the energy exchange.

IPTO has already informed that the electricity balancing market – to ensure the security of supply at the least cost and deliver environmental benefits by reducing the need for back-up generation – cannot operate before spring in 2019. IPTO will be responsible for the balancing market once it is launched.

RAE recently decided to appoint a consultant to appraise codes concerning the intraday and day-ahead markets, currently being processed by LAGIE, as well as codes concerning the balancing market, being prepared by IPTO.

 

Megalopoli V launch ready, hidden unit costs disclosed

The main power utility PPC’s new Megalopoli V power unit, which has been put through an extended trial run, offering the facility priority system rights, is now set for its commercial launch.

A related statement by IPTO, the power grid operator, has been delivered to RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, which is expected to approve the power plan’s launch within the next few days, sources said.

Once commercially launched, Megalopoli V will need to offer competitive prices shaped by its variable costs, a development that is expected to impact the wholesale electricity market.

The first signs of impact have become apparent over the past few days. The utility has temporarily stopped operating, following the trial run’s completion, which has led to an increase in the level of lignite-fired electricity production as well as higher gas-fueled generation by independent units, currently finding more space in the market, as suggested by day-ahead market data released by LAGIE, the Electricity Market Operator.

According to this data, the heightened activity of lignite-fired units has disclosed the high variable costs of certain units, especially during hours when these units are shaping the System Marginal Price (SMP).

It has become apparent, for example, that PPC’s Agios Dimitrios units will today exceed 56 euros per MWh, a cost level carrying notorious utility issues such as overstaffing and bloated remuneration packages.

According to LAGIE’s day-ahead market data, PPC’s Agios Dimitrios 2 is today offering an SMP of 59.22 euros per MWh, Agios Dimitrios IV is at 56.2 euros per MWh and Kardia at 54.5 euros per MWh. Quite clearly, such levels offer plenty of capacity for correction and cost reduction, as is expected to be highlighted in a study now being conducted by the consulting firm McKinsey.

The timing of Megalopoli V’s commercial launch does not appear to have been left to chance. Its 500 MW to be offered to the system will be added to the CATs to be targeted by PPC. (It should be noted that this new unit is actually an 800-MW facility but 300 MW remains unavailable because the network has yet to be upgraded.

 

 

 

Lifting purchase price restrictions would trouble power producers

Target model positions supported by energy-intensive industrial energy consumers in a public consultation procedure staged by LAGIE, the Electricity Market Operator, have brought to the fore a proposal calling for the abolishment of minimum-price limits on electricity purchases.

The abolishment of minimum-price limits on electricity purchases has raised concerns over the sustainability of independent electricity producers.

LAGIE’s proposal entails setting a minimum price limit on electricity  purchase offers that is equal to the variable costs of each electricity producer.

Though all sides acknowledge that restrictions will eventually be lifted amid the new market model, certain players support that minimum purchase price limits are currently needed to protect market liquidity.

The operator and certain market players contend that the market is not yet mature enough for restriction-free offers, which, they believe, would threaten the sustainability of independent electricity producers.

According to sources, market authorities want to maintain minimum purchase price limits as their abolishment would reduce the System Marginal Price (SMP) by 10 euros per MWh, a study has indicated.

Such a development would be favorable for the main power utility PPC, which, as the market’s biggest supplier, purchases significant electricity amounts to cover its needs.

Consumers, especially major-scale consumers such as steel industries, would also benefit as their energy costs could be significantly reduced during low-demand hours, especially at night.

The target model is aiming to harmonize the electricity wholesale market with EU standards.

 

 

 

Market troubled by NOME term proposals, still vague

It remains unclear whether certain electricity export restrictions will be imposed on participants of the year’s first of four NOME auctions, whose new date has just been been rescheduled for February 7 from January 17, new terms forwarded for public consultation by LAGIE, the Electricity Market Operator, have indicated.

According to pundits, the new terms proposed by LAGIE would introduce some sort of monitoring system, but, beyond that, no export limits are specified.

A related legislative amendment delivered by the energy ministry to parliament, and ratified, is vague.

According to market pundits, the only certainty promised by LAGIE’s terms is an immediate elimination of export restrictions previously set by RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy.

For the most recent NOME auction, held in October, RAE introduced a term that required participants to have supplied at least 30 percent of electricity amounts purchased at preceding auctions to the domestic market in order to qualify for the session. RAE had also set terms for 2018, increasing this domestic supply quota to 50 percent as a prerequisite for participating in auctions during the first half and 70 percent for auctions in the second half of the year. According to these RAE terms, newcomers faced lighter conditions and could have qualified for NOME auctions throughout 2018 having domestically supplied 30 percent of their auction electricity purchases.

Revised export limits will need to be legislated as the monitoring system, alone, is not expected to prove effective, pundits insist.

Besides the confusion caused by the proposed monitoring system’s lack of clarity, independent electricity suppliers have also reacted against a condition requiring them to submit business plans to market authorities for appraisal, despite a lack of familiarity by the latter of respective company strategies and challenges. This requirement promises to add to the difficulties faced by independent electricity suppliers, seeking to forge appropriate policies for survival in a tough market.

According to the new NOME terms proposed by LAGIE, all electricity suppliers will need to accompany registry applications with annual retail electricity market penetration plans, including targets for each quarter of the year. Other application requirements include rundowns of how NOME electricity amounts will be used by suppliers as well as substantiated analyses of economic benefits to be offered to electricity consumers.

LAGIE has also proposed offering independent electricity suppliers an additional 594 MWh/h at the next NOME auction, on top of the original electricity amount of 1,126 MWh/h, as the main power utility PPC’s market share did not drop to a bailout target figure of 75.24 percent by the end of 2017. It ended the year at 85.34 percent.

LAGIE’s public consultation procedure is scheduled to conclude on January 24.

 

 

Various fundamentals factored into RAE’s ETMEAR reduction

A decision by RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, to reduce the the RES-supporting ETMEAR surcharge imposed on electricity bills by approximately 50 million euros in 2018 takes into account a number of key factors, including a 32.36 million-euro RES special account surplus forecast for 2017 by LAGIE, the Electricity Market Operator, a 278.3 million-euro surplus for 2018 anticipated by the operator in 2018, as well as supplier surcharge revenues, which the authority expects to amount to 374.93 million euros this year.

In its decision, RAE also sees a further 169.53 million euros being injected into the RES special account in 2018 from the sale of CO2 emission rights, up from 151.85 million euros in 2017. This forecast presumes an average emission rights cost of 7 euros per ton.

On the contrary, revenues stemming from a special lignite surcharge are expected to drop to 31.9 million euros in 2018 from 33.54 million euros in 2017.

Another key factor taken into account by RAE for its ETMEAR reduction is the wholesale electricity price. The authority sees the System Marginal Price (SMP) averaging 52 euros per MWh in 2018.

LAGIE wants green certificates to replace supplier surcharge

LAGIE, the Electricity Market Operator, is preparing to present a proposal to the energy ministry that would replace the existing supplier surcharge with a new type of contribution by electricity suppliers to the RES special account, “green certificate” purchases whose cost would reflect respective retail market shares.

The operator’s head official, Mihalis Filippou, informed of the intention at an IENE (Institute of Energy for Southeast Europe) conference yesterday.

According to the LAGIE head, the supplier surcharge is not compatible with market rules and, despite being adopted to counter market distortions, has led to other distortions.

The solution to be proposed will require electricity suppliers to purchase “green certificates” as gurantees of RES origin. These certificates will be issued by LAGIE and auctioned at the prospective energy exchange as one of three types of commodities to be traded at the exchange, while the resulting revenues would be used to financial support the RES special account, according to the proposal.

Regardless of whether this proposal is introduced or not, suppliers will be expected to make financial contributions to the RES special account, which raises the obvious question as to why bother changing the current system in the first place.

According to LAGIE, the new system would be compatible with international market rules, unlike the current supply surcharge, a local initiative. Also, the new system would reflect the RES special account’s real needs, the operator believes. Thirdly, and most importantly, the new system’s “green certificate”costs will be rolled over to consumption prices by all suppliers. This is not the case with the supplier surcharge as PPC, the main power utlility, has refused to pay.

The energy ministry has declared it will use the RES special account’s surplus to reduce the RES-supporting ETMEAR surcharge. The ministry has also described the supplier surcharge as an effective measure, noting it intends to keep it virtually unchanged, except for slight revisions related to the target model, a process entailing the electricity wholesale market’s harmonisation with EU law.

 

 

Electricity imports and exports down over the past year

Electricity imports fell by approximately 40 percent in October compared to the previous month and 26 percent compared to a year earlier, latest data provided by LAGIE, the Electricity Market Operator, has shown.

Electricity exports rose by 12.7 percent in October compared to the previous month, driven by higher prices fetched by traders abroad, but dropped by 30 percent compared to October last year, the data showed.

It should be noted that Greece’s transboundary electricity trade was greatly impacted by technical problems concerning the country’s interconnection with Italy, which was out of order for much of October.

Greece’s System Marginal Price (SMP), representing the wholesale price, was steady from September to October this year, but rose by 11.7 euros per MWh this October compared to a year earlier.

The main power utility PPC, forced to import enormous electricity amounts, imported 147,578 MWh in October, making it the month’s biggest importer. GEN-I was October’s biggest exporter, delivering an amount of 108,358 MWh.

 

PPC market share plummets 2% in September, five rivals now over 1%

The main power utility PPC’s retail electricity market share dropped sharply, by two percentage points, in September, to 83.56 percent from 85.55 percent in August, LAGIE, the Electricity Market Operator, has announced in its latest report.

This drop breaks a recent period of stagnancy during which PPC’s market share remained stable. The utility’s market share hardly moved between July and August. PPC held an 85.72 percent share of the retail market in July.

Also noteworthy, five independent suppliers have now broken the one-percent barrier.

Despite PPC’s sudden market share contraction in August, the utility remains a long way off the bailout’s end-of-year target, set at 75.24 percent. PPC would need to lose a further 8 percent by the end of December to reach this goal, a highly unlikely prospect.

All eyes are on the year’s final NOME auction next Wednesday, offering 718 MWH/h, well above previous amounts. The session is seen as crucial for the shape of the country’s retail electricity market in 2018. NOME auctions were introduced a year ago to offer independent suppliers access to PPC’s lower-cost lignite and hydropower sources.

Divided into voltage-based categories, PPC’s overall 83.56 percent market share for the month of September represents 11.49 percent in high-voltage supply, 17.02 percent in medium-voltage supply and 55.04 percent in low-voltage supply, according to LAGIE.

As for the independent suppliers, Heron topped the list with 3.92% (2.57% medium-voltage, 1.34% low-voltage), up from 3.30%.

Protergia, a member of the Mytilineos corporate group, followed with 3.82% (2.32% medium-voltage, 1.50% low-voltage), up from 3.48%.

Elpedison was next with 3.72% (0.2% high-voltage, 1.98% medium-voltage, 1.54% low-voltage), up from 3.27% a month earlier.

Watt + Volt followed with 1.37% (0.29% medium-voltage, 1.08% low-voltage), up from 1.23%.

NRG Trading registered a 1.13% share (0.76% medium-voltage, 0.37% low-voltage), up from 0.96%.

Volterra reached 0.94% (all medium-voltage), from 0.84%.

Green’s market share rose to 0.61% (0.22% medium-voltage, 0.39% low-voltage) from 0.55%.

OTE’s share was 0.29% (all low-voltage), marginally below the previous month’s 0.3%.

KEN registered 0.14% (0.08% medium-voltage, 0.06% low-voltage) from 0.1%.

ELTA (Hellenic Post) followed with 0.09% (0.04% medium-voltage, 0.05% low-voltage) from 0.08%.

Viener was next with 0.07% (all medium-voltage) from 0.06%.

The firm Growth remained steady at 0.06% (0.05% medium-voltage, 0.01% low-voltage).

Interbeton registered 0.05% (all medium-voltage) from 0.04%.

Volton’s market share was also 0.05% (0.01% medium-voltage and 0.04% low-voltage), from 0.04%.

Novaera’s share reached 0.04% (all medium-voltage), up from 0.02%.

 

 

 

NOME terms make gazette just in time, smaller players pressured

The terms set by RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, for Greece’s next NOME auction, postponed by a week for October 25, were published late last night in the government gazette, just in time to avoid further delay.

According to regulations, LAGIE, the Electricity Market Operator, which publishes the auction terms, must do so no later than a week prior to each session. Next week’s auction will be the last for the year.

RAE’s delay in reaching final decisions has created problems for auction bidders, especially smaller firms, as all participants must have secured letters of guarantee from their respective banks in order to take part in the auction.

The value of letters of guarantee issued for next week’s auction will need to be  considerably higher given the electricity amount of 718 MWH/h, well above previous auction levels, to be offered on October 25.

All participants need to obtain bank letters of guarantee worth 3 percent of the auction’s total amount, which works out to approximately 600,000 euros each, for the next auction. This represents a greater challenge for participants, especially the smaller players.

As for the upcoming auction’s terms, participants will need to have supplied the Greek market at least 30 percent of electricity acquired at previous NOME auctions in order to be eligible for participation next week.

Some traders have acquired supply licenses to export NOME-acquired electricity amounts to foreign markets offering higher prices.

In 2018, older players – active for at least one year – will need to have supplied the domestic market at least 50 percent of electricity obtained at previous NOME auctions to be eligible for first-half auctions and 70 percent for second-half auctions.

Newer firms – active for less than a year – must have supplied the Greek market at least 30 percent of previous NOME-obtained electricity amounts to take part in both first-half and second-half auctions in 2018.

NOME auctions were introduced around a year ago to offer independent suppliers access to the main power utility PPC’s lower-cost lignite and hydropower sources.

 

 

NOME auction delayed by a week, new terms worked on

The upcoming final NOME auction for the year, originally scheduled for October 18, is now expected to be postponed by about a week as RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, is still working on measures intended to oblige participants to maximize their supply of electricity amounts purchased at the auctions to the Greek market.

RAE is looking to impose a condition that would require buyers to supply at least 80 percent of electricity amounts purchased at the auctions to the local retail electricity market, based on a proposal forwarded by LAGIE, the Electricity Market Operator. Offenders would be eliminated from ensuing auctions, according to the LAGIE plan.

At this stage, it appears that an intermediate solution may be implemented for the year’s final auction, whose most probable date is October 25, before a more comprehensive plan takes effect in 2018.

RAE has yet to make a final decision on how comprehensive the measure will be for the upcoming auction. The authority could decide today.

A total of 718 MWh/h will be offered at the next NOME auction. This amount represents a drastic increase from the year’s original remainder of 246 MW/h.

NOME auctions were introduced around a year ago to offer independent suppliers access to the main power utility PPC’s lower-cost lignite and hydropower sources.