mobile power generators

Diesel-fueled power facilities on interconnected islands to go

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Power utility PPC’s old diesel-fueled power facilities generating electricity on the Cyclades until this group of islands was interconnected with the mainland grid via subsea cable will soon be completely withdrawn, the current status of these facilities, as back-up units, deemed costly and unnecessary by RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy.

No changes will be made this coming summer but the withdrawal of the units, as back-up systems, is expected as of next year, once certain legal and administrative issues are settled.

The interconnecting subsea cables, inflowing and outflowing and offering the Cyclades islands electricity input from two sides, have rendered the back-up units unnecessary as this back-up service is provided by the cables themselves, according to RAE sources.

Islands in the wider region still being supplied electricity through just one subsea cable continue to require back-up, but this service does not need to be provided by the high-cost diesel power units, RAE believes.

RAE has not approved a related proposal submitted by power utility PPC, firstly because of their high cost, and secondly, as compensation of the units, for their strategic back-up services, would need the European Commission’s approval.

Instead, RAE appears to favor a solution entailing the use of portable generators that could be transferred from one island to another, wherever and whenever needed. These generators would be leased by the distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO, a PPC subsidiary, while their cost would be incorporated into the operator’s operating expenses.

Meanwhile, RAE’s board is soon expected to approve a PPC lease plan for generators offering 58 MW, to be installed on Crete as back-up for the busier summer months of July and August.

PPC staging tender for generators as back-up on Crete this summer

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Power utility PPC has just announced a tender for leasing contracts concerning power generators with a total capacity of 58 MW for Crete, to serve as back-up for grid sufficiency on the island during July and August, in anticipation of the tourism-related peak in electricity demand.

The generators, to be installed at PPC’s power station at Atherinolakkos, southeastern Crete, are intended to back an imminent subsea grid interconnection linking the island with the Peloponnese – the first step of a bigger interconnection project to reach Athens – which will have only been in operation for a few months when summer arrives.

The Crete-Peloponnese power grid interconnection is expected to be ready for launch in late April.

PPC’s plan for generators, budgeted at approximately 4 million euros, has been divided into two sections, one for 23 MW, the other for 35 MW. Participants can only submit offers for one of the tender’s two sections.

According to the tender’s terms, PPC will maintain the right to extend the lease contracts for all or some of the generators by a month, also covering September, if needed.

Distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO has estimated that Crete will need between 75 and 80 MW in additional capacity this summer. Besides the 58 MW to be provided by the generators through the tender, PPC will secure the required remainder through back-up solutions already possessed by the power utility.

If all goes according to plan, PPC’s rented generators, mobile units running on high-cost diesel, will not need to be used at all while stationed on the island, meaning the initiative’s total cost would be limited to the value of the lease agreements.

RAE seeks power generator licensing improvements

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RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, has taken action aimed at improving licensing procedures for the installation of power generators.

The matter has been the cause of friction between the authority and PPC, the main power utility, which, in the past, has criticized RAE for delaying the issuance of licenses needed to install power generators on islands. PPC argued these delays have negatively impacted the power utility and electricity consumers on islands.

PPC has also criticized the regulatory authority for failing to recognize transportation and installation costs concerning mobile power generators used on non-interconnected islands. The power utility had undertaken such initiatives without previous approval from RAE. Costs for such ventures are recoverable only in cases for which production licences have been issued.

The dispute between the two sides, dating back to 2016, was eventually resolved but matters concerning the issuance of licenses, especially the need to hasten the process, remained pending.

It remains to be seen whether the new framework decided on by RAE will help hasten licensing procedures.

RAE has pointed out that restrictions concerning the use of mobile power generators, which run on diesel and mazut, are necessary as a result of EU climate change policies and emission targets set by the Paris climate accord.