DESFA forced to revise project budgets as metal prices rise

Gas grid operator DESFA is being forced to reevaluate its budget for projects included in its existing ten-year development plan and set for inclusion in its forthcoming updated plan as a result of rising metal commodity prices in international markets, which have impacted the cost of gas pipelines and other equipment.

Metal price levels are projected to remain elevated in the foreseeable future. As a result, DESFA officials are striving for solutions that may prevent the transfer of increased project costs to consumers, and also subdue, to the greatest degree possible, additional project costs for the company.

DESFA is expected to deliver its updated ten-year development plan, covering 2022 to 2031, in September, according to sources.

The updated plan will not unveil any surprises in terms of the projects included, the sources added. A gas pipeline project linking the Epirus region in Greece’s northwest with the country’s grid is expected to be added to the DESFA list.

Two options for this project are being considered. One option entails the development of a pipeline from Ptolemaida, northern Greece, to Ioannina, in the northwest, and the other, the construction of a storage facility at the northwestern port of Igoumenitsa, from where a pipeline would run to Ioannina.