Gas network for west, expected in 2023, to be supplied LNG

A natural gas network to cover western Greece’s provincial cities Patras, Agrinio and Pyrgos and scheduled for completion in 2023 will carry LNG to be transported from gas grid operator DESFA’s Revythoussa islet terminal close to Athens.

Regional authority Nekatrios Farmakis has just authorized the project’s entry into the Regional Operation Program (2014-2020) for Western Greece, an important step for this gas network’s development. Work on the project is expected to begin within 2021.

The project, being co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), is budgeted at 21.3 million euros. The gas network will seek to attract business, industrial as well as household consumers.

To be developed by gas distributor DEDA, the new network will run a total distance of approximately of 208 kilometers and be equipped with a metering and regulation station (M/R) for its supply to Patras.

Tenders for west Greece gas networks expected next month

Gas distributor DEDA is preparing to launch tenders next month for the construction of distribution networks covering the provincial cities of Patras, Pyrgos and Agrinio, all in the country’s west.

Approval of a technical bulletin by regional authorities in western Greece is now all that remains pending before these tenders can be launched.

Development of the distribution networks for all three cities is scheduled to commence in September or October.

Projects in Greece’s western region are co-funded by the EU’s National Strategic Reference Fund (NSRF) for 2014 to 2020, meaning the aforementioned networks will need to be completed by December, 2023, when this funding program expires.

These networks, promising to introduce natural gas to western Greece, are planned to cover a distance of 208 kilometers. The network in the wider Patras area will consist of a 120-km network, 72 km will concern Agrinio, while the Pyrgos system will total 16 km.

Once launched, at least 10,300 households, 560 businesses and 23 industrial consumers are forecast to connect with the three networks within a five-year period.

The majority of these consumers are in Patras, Greece’s third most populous city, expected to number at least 6,670 households, 218 businesses and 20 industrial consumers by 2025.

Households in western Greece are seen reaching gas consumption levels of 73,940 MWh, businesses are forecast to consume 36,307 MWh and industrial consumers 111,757 MWh.

DESFA 2021-30 plan endorsed, west Macedonia, Patras pipelines included

Gas grid operator DESFA’s ten-year development plan for 2021 to 2030, featuring projects budgeted at over 500 million euros in total, including pipelines in the country’s west Macedonia and Patras regions, has been approved by RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy.

Speaking at the 2nd Power & Supply Forum, on online event staged earlier this week by energypress, DESFA’s chief executive Maria Rita Galli pointed out that this amount is double that of the previous plan and includes 54 projects through which the company will strive to contribute to strengthening Greece’s role as a regional energy hub.

The west Macedonia pipeline, a new entry to the ten-year plan, is budgeted at 110 million euros and planned to cover a 130 km distance in northern Greece.

Despite not being included in the national recovery plan for subsidy support, DESFA is prepared to develop this project with company reserves and loans.

Even if developed without subsidy support, the eventual cost of the west Macedonia pipeline for gas consumers will be spread out into limited amounts if gas demand in the region is high, as is anticipated.

Power utility PPC’s chief executive Giorgos Stassis, another energypress forum participant, informed that the company’s prospective Ptolemaida V lignite-fired power station will have converted to natural gas by 2025.

The conversion promises to boost the facility’s capacity, which will increase its consumption and add to the west Macedonia gas pipeline’s feasibility.

The gas pipeline planned for Patras, budgeted at 85 million euros, will cover a distance of approximately 140 km, from Megalopoli, in the central Peloponnese, to the western city’s industrial zone. Patras’ industrial sector is expected to ensure strong demand for natural gas.

The Patras project could, in the future, be extended to reach other cities on Greece’s west side, such as Pyrgos, western Peloponnese, and Agrinio, in the northwest.