Caretaker energy minister confident all is in place

The caretaker government’s energy minister Pantelis Kapros has assumed his post feeling confident that all has already been put into place by previous officials to ensure energy sufficiency as summer approaches.

His predecessor, Kostas Skrekas, the country’s market operators and power utility PPC have taken all necessary initiatives to ensure energy sufficiency, even under high temperatures.

Kapros, professor of energy economics and operational research at the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), has made this confidence clear during a first round of talks with market operators and regulators.

He will remain in charge of Greece’s energy portfolio until a new government is sworn in following a second round of voting, possibly late next month.

Reservoir water levels at PPC’s dams have been maintained at levels comparable to last year, lignite reserves are high, while the number of new RES units connected to the grid this year has reached unprecedented heights.

The country’s hydropower facilities currently offer a capacity of 2,800 to 2,900 MW, lignite stocks measure 3 million tons, and more than 1 GW in new RES unit connections have been made.

Furthermore, two new power stations, a Mytilineos group facility and PPC’s Ptolemaida V, promising an overall capacity of 1,500 MW, are now close to being launched.

IPTO confident of energy sufficiency this coming summer

Greek power grid operator IPTO, contrary to officials in other parts of Europe fearing drought periods will affect their electricity sufficiency, is confident current local conditions are favorable enough to get the country through the high-demand summer season.

Reservoir water levels at Greek power utility PPC’s hydropower facilities have just about been maintained at last year’s levels, more RES units have been connected to the grid this year than ever before, while the country’s lignite stocks are also currently high, at three million tons, following a concerted energy-crisis effort made since last year.

In addition, Greece’s grid is set to be reinforced, within the next couple of months, by the addition of two new power stations – a Mytilineos group unit and PPC’s Ptolemaida V – to offer an extra generation capacity of 1,500 MW.

Reservoir water levels at PPC’s hydropower plants currently offer 2,720 MW and are expected, over the next few days, to rise to 2,850 MW, levels recorded last year, primarily as a result of increased flow at northern Greece’s Haliacmon river.

Ptolemaida V launch to be determined by summer’s load

Power utility PPC’s forthcoming launch of Ptolemaida V, a new 660-MW power station now undergoing a final stage of trial runs, will need to wait until full-scale testing has been conducted during the summer’s energy-demand peak.

The new facility, to initially operate as a low-emitting lignite-fired power station before eventually converting to natural gas, has been undergoing trial runs since last November, but further testing is needed ahead of its full-scale commercial launch, sources have informed.

The prolonged period of lower electricity demand, further subdued by the energy crisis, has not enabled testing of the new facility under actual high-demand conditions, the sources explained.

As a result, Ptolemaida V’s chief operating engineers plan to wait until July and August, when electricity demand in the country will be far greater, in order to test the facility’s mechanical systems under full-stress conditions.

The new PPC facility, officially presented by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in February, is planned to operate as a lignite-fired power station until 2028, when lignite as a source of electricity generation is expected to be completely phased out.

Its operating efficiency level is far greater than that of older-technology lignite-fired power stations. Ptolemaida V requires 1.5 tons of lignite to generate one MWh, compared to 2.2 tons needed by existing lignite-fired power stations, meaning it operates at a lignite cost of 30 euros per MWh compared to 45 euros per MWh of existing units. Its CO2 emission levels are also considerably lower, roughly 40 percent.

Ptolemaida V power station’s full-scale launch just weeks away

Power utility PPC is just weeks away from commercially launching its new Ptolemaida V power station, a 660-MW facility in the country’s north now undergoing a final stage of trial runs.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, scheduled to visit the area next week, is expected to highlight the significance of this project, including its role in the country’s anticipated post-lignite era.

Ptolemaida V, to initially operate as a low-emitting lignite-fired power station before eventually converting to natural gas, promises to greatly contribute to the grid’s energy sufficiency.

According to a latest estimate provided by power grid operator IPTO, in an energy sufficiency study, the facility may operate as a lignite-fired power station until the end of 2028 before being withdrawn for a two-year period and relaunched, at the beginning of 2031, as a 1,000-MW gas-fueled power station.

However, the power station’s switch to natural gas at a sooner date cannot be ruled out if gas prices de-escalate in the long-term and remain stable at lower price levels.

Lignite, gas-fueled facilities on full to meet spike in demand

Electricity demand is expected to peak at 8,190 MW this afternoon, while the day’s overall demand will reach 163.258 GWh, an amount that will require input from virtually all available lignite and gas-fueled power stations so that the country can cope with the Barbara weather system, which has produced freezing temperatures and snowfall.

The RES sector is also greatly contributing to help the grid cope with significantly higher electricity demand and avert any fears of an energy shortage.

The country’s RES units are today expected to offer 79.59 GWh, roughly 50 percent of the day’s overall demand, while lignite and gas-fueled power stations are planned to generate 62.44 GWh.

According to power grid operator IPTO’s schedule for the day, five of power utility PPC’s lignite-fired power stations will contribute to the grid, these being Agios Dimitrios I, Agios Dimitrios III, Agios Dimitrios V, Meliti and Ptolemaida V, a new 660-MW facility still undergoing a full-scale trial run ahead of its launch next month.

As for gas-fueled power stations, PPC’s Aliveri V and Megalopoli V will be called into action, while the private sector will contribute with a Heron unit, two Elpedison facilities, in Thessaloniki and Thisvi, as well as a Corinth Power unit.

The same lignite and gas-fueled power stations were recruited to contribute to the grid yesterday, when the Barbara weather system made landfall, resulting in an electricity demand peak at 7,990 MW and overall demand of 161.080 GWh.

PPC aims to launch pivotal Ptolemaida V unit in March

Power utility PPC is aiming to launch its new and pivotal Ptolemaida V power station, a 660-MW facility undergoing a final stage of trial runs, by late March.

Trial runs at Ptolemaida V were interrupted by technical issues that arose in December, but the facility is expected to resume operating around January 22 for continual tests over a one-and-a-half-month period before its full-scale commercial launch.

This facility, to initially operate as a low-emitting lignite-fired power station before eventually converting to natural gas, promises to greatly contribute to the grid’s energy sufficiency.

If this winter’s weather conditions deteriorate and prompt a spike in energy demand, the energy sufficiency effort will greatly depend on PPC’s lignite reserves amassed at its lignite-fired power stations.

PPC has accumulated roughly three million tons of lignite at its lignite-fired power stations, close to its target of 3.5 million tons.

The power utility’s current lignite quantity would suffice to keep its lignite-fired power stations, seven in total, running continuously over one month, PPC officials noted.

PPC is aiming to double its overall lignite-fired electricity production this year, from 5 TWh to 10 TWh.

 

Trial run of PPC’s Ptolemaida V reaches full capacity

Power utility PPC’s new, state-of-the-art Ptolemaida V power station has entered the final stage of its pre-launch tests. The facility is now injecting electricity into the grid, gradually boosting its input since early December without technical issues.

The new PPC facility was injecting electricity amounts of approximately 300 MW, nearly half its 660-MW capacity, by mid-December, before increasing its grid input to 450 MW last week, and has begun offering levels of as much as 616 MW since December 18.

As is standard practice, internationally, such new facilities undergo three phases of trial tests, the first undertaken by the project’s developer, in this case GEK TERNA.

Ptolemaida V, a project budgeted at over 1.4 billion euros, is expected to be ready for a full-scale launch by the end of February. It will initially operate as a low-emitting lignite-fired power station before eventually converting to natural gas.

PPC’s Ptolemaida V nearing full-scale test, lignite output up

The mechanical equipment of power utility PPC’s new, state-of-the-art Ptolemaida V power station is currently undergoing preliminary testing ahead of a full-scale trial run, expected towards the end of this month or early in November, before the facility is commercially launched and linked to the energy exchange in early January, PPC officials have told energypress.

The facility, whose testing began just a few days ago, will initially operate as a lignite-fired power station before eventually converting to natural gas.

A cross-party political decision to construct Ptolemaida V was reached nine years ago.

The launch of Ptolemaida V, a 610-MW capacity power station, promises to greatly contribute to the country’s energy security as its operation will enable significant amounts of natural gas to be saved for winter.

The new power station is a low-emitting facility with a high performance level able to rival natural gas-fueled power stations (CCGTs).

Greece’s lignite-fired electricity generation is being increased following a government decision reached in early July to boost lignite’s percentage of the energy mix. The objective is to double lignite-based output over the next 12 months, from 5 TWh to 10 TWh.

The country’s lignite-fired power production has been on the rise since early last summer, more-than-doubling in June, compared to the equivalent month in 2021, rising 61 percent, year-on-year, in July, and increasing 27 percent in August.

PPC’s liquidity, €3.6bn, ‘crisis tool’; Ptolemaida V ‘trial run in October’

Power utility PPC’s company plans are being adjusted on a daily basis as a result of changing market conditions in the energy crisis, but the corporation’s liquidity, at 3.6 billion euros – 2.197 billion euros in cash reserves and 1.444 billion euros in secured credit availability – stands as a protective weapon amid the uncertainty, chief executive Giorgos Stassis has told analysts during a presentation of PPC’s second-quarter results.

PPC’s net debt on June 30, 2022 was 2.245 billion euros, while PPC faces expiring debt payments worth 220 million euros in 2022, 543 million euros in 2023, and 1.015 billion euros in 2024, for which payment deadlines of 600 million euros can be extended by a year, Stassis informed.

The majority of PPC’s debt, 67 percent, has fixed interest rate terms, while 33 percent of the company’s borrowing is ESG-linked, the chief executive added.

PPC’s new Ptolemaida V power station, to be launched as a lignite-fired power station before eventually converting to natural gas, is expected to undergo a trial run in October, ahead of a scheduled launch in January, Stassis noted.

PPC is pushing ahead with investments in renewable energy, the company’s portfolio of RES facilities under construction or ready to undergo construction at 394 MW, the chief executive informed, adding that RES projects representing a further 4 GW are practically assured.

Company news concerning acquisitions is soon expected from Romania, possibly within the next few months, the chief executive noted.

Lignite units back in full force, 34% of energy mix in June

The country’s return to full-scale, lignite-fired electricity generation, an initiative taken to limit the use of natural gas, whose cost has surged amid the energy crisis, increased lignite’s share of the Greek energy mix to 34 percent in June, up from 19.9 percent in May.

Prior to the energy crisis, Greece’s existing lignite-fired power stations, environmentally unfriendly, were headed for withdrawal by 2023 as part of the country’s decarbonization effort.

The duration of their return will now depend on the length of the energy crisis. Ptolemaida V, a new lignite-fired power station planned to be converted to natural gas in the near future, will soon bolster the country’s lignite initiative. This facility’s launch is planned for October or November.

Many questions remain unanswered. The amount of lignite deposits available for extraction at mines is unclear. Also, Greece’s lignite mines and lignite-fired power stations could be short of personnel following the execution of voluntary retirement programs in recent years, as part of the decarbonization drive. In addition, the ability of these lignite units to operate continuously and fully cover a total disruption of Russian gas supply, including during winter, is questionable.

Continual use of the lignite-fired power stations could lead to technical problems. This, at present, is the biggest fear concerning their return.

Government officials contend current lignite deposits can cover the country’s needs until 2030, while new lignite mines could be created, if needed. Staff levels are also sufficient, the officials added.

 

July power subsidies 20 cents per KWh for all households

Electricity bill amounts for all households will be subsidized at a rate of 20 cents per KWh for consumption in July, without any upper limits and regardless of income levels, energy minister Kostas Skrekas has announced.

The total value of the government’s subsidy package for July is expected to reach 722 million euros, a 300 million-euro increase compared to June.

Besides the universal amount to be offered to all households, July’s electricity consumption for low-income households eligible for social support will be subsidized 240 euros per MWh, a rate fully absorbing the month-to-month increase.

In addition, electricity consumption concerning businesses with 35-kVA connections will be subsidized at a rate of 192 euros per MWh, while all other businesses and industries will be supported with subsidies worth 148 euros per MWh for July.

Furthermore, natural gas subsidies for industrial consumers will be subsidized at a rate of 30 euros per thermal MWh, according to the government’s support package.

Commenting on the government’s energy-security plan should Russian gas supply to Greece be disrupted, Skrekas, the energy minister, noted that the capacity of the Revythoussa LNG terminal on the islet just off Athens will be doubled with the installation of an FSU, expected to be ready to operate by the end of this month.

LNG imports will be increased, the minister noted, adding that power utility PPC’s new lignite-fired power station Ptolemaida V will be ready to operate in September. This facility will convert to gas later on. Also, five diesel-fueled units are ready to be used, if necessary, the minister informed.

PPC awaits Brussels energy strategy to decide on Ptolemaida V

Power utility PPC will wait for the European Commission’s finalized decisions on a strategic plan intended to end the EU’s reliance on Russian fossil fuels before it decides on the operating and conversion details of its prospective Ptolemaida V power station in northern Greece, to be launched as a lignite-fired facility before being converted to natural gas.

The PPC board is now expected to decide on Ptolemaida V’s conversion date towards the end of this year, according to sources.

Ptolemaida V, expected to undergo a trial run in the second half of the year before being launched late in the year or early in 2023, will be introduced as Greece’s last lignite-fired power station.

Early in April, prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced extensions to withdrawal dates for older lignite-fired power stations that were originally headed for closure prior to 2025. At the time, the prime minister also informed that Ptolemaida V could now operate as a lignite-fired unit until 2028.

Revisions to the country’s decarbonization plan have been prompted by energy security concerns following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the exacerbation of the preceding energy crisis as a result of this war.

The Greek government has decided to increase lignite mining output as a safety measure should Russia interrupt its natural gas supply.

A year ago, PPC had announced it intended to convert Ptolemaida V into a natural gas-fired facility as of 2025, but the latest energy security concerns froze this plan.

 

Lignite re-emphasis temporary measure for security, PM says

A government decision for an increased lignite share of the country’s energy mix is purely temporary and driven by energy security concerns, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis clarified during a speech yesterday in Kozani, northern Greece.

The same goes for Athens’ thoughts about extending the lives of state-controlled power utility PPC’s two lignite-fired power stations, Meliti and Agios Dimitrios V. PPC plans to withdraw these units by the end of 2023, as part of the country’s decarbonization strategy, but this exit date may now be delayed.

The technical future of PPC’s Ptolemaida V, a new convertible power station, is unclear. During yesterday’s speech, the Greek prime minister informed that, if needed, this facility would operate as a lignite-fired facility until 2028, before switching to natural gas. This switch could be made at an earlier date if the war ends and natural gas prices fall significantly, seen as unlikely at present.

This overall change in direction is directly linked to the European Commission’s decision to significantly revise the EU’s Fit for 55 plan, originally setting a target for a 55 percent reduction of carbon emissions by 2030, compared to 1990 levels. Details of the Fit for 55 revisions, prompted by the impact on markets of Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine and the EU’s resulting decision to drastically reduce its reliance on Russian natural gas, are expected to be announced by the European Commission in May.

The EU’s new energy strategy is expected to lead to an increase in the use of biomethane and green hydrogen, as well as reduced gas consumption, regardless of the supplier, be it Russia, the USA, Qatar or Algeria.

Authorities admit the international LNG market cannot increase production to a level that would fully replace Russian gas supply.

PPC’s Ptolemaida V test run in summer, gas conversion in ’25

Power utility PPC’s prospective Ptolemaida V power station in northern Greece, whose construction has almost been completed, is expected to undergo a test run this coming summer, as a lignite-fired facility, ahead of its launch late in the year or early 2022, while the unit will be converted into a natural gas-fired unit as of 2025, top-ranked company officials have informed.

The officials ruled out any possibility of a deviation away from the corporation’s natural gas conversion plan for the facility by 2025.

Any delay would be detrimental for PPC given the rising cost of carbon emission rights, currently at a level of approximately 90 euros per ton, leading to losses.

Carbon emission rights would need to drop to a level of no more than 45 euros per ton for Ptolemaida V to cover its operating costs as a lignite-fired facility, the PPC officials noted.

Meanwhile, a recent European Commission decision on its Taxonomy, essentially excluding ultra-modern power stations that are exclusively fueled by natural gas from its list of green investments, comes as a setback for the financing terms achievable for such facilities, the PPC officials pointed out.

The PPC officials admitted, however, that this Brussels decision will push investors to seek emission-reducing solutions, such as mixed natural gas and hydrogen solutions.

PPC is preparing such ventures following a recent announcement concerning a related collaboration with Motor Oil.

The European Commission’s Taxonomy is intended to serve as a guide for private and public-sector investments required to achieve climate neutrality over the next 30 years.

 

Lignite-fired electricity packages to PPC rivals by fourth quarter

The energy ministry plans to soon submit to Parliament a legislative revision for a mechanism offering third parties access to power utility PPC’s lignite-fired electricity production. This move will enable the implementation of an agreement on the matter between the government and the European Commission as a remedy to a long-running antitrust case concerning PPC’s monopoly in the lignite sector.

Officials are aiming for a first round of lignite-produced electricity packages to become available to third parties imminently, by the fourth quarter of this year.

All electricity suppliers will be entitled to purchase these packages, to have three-month durations.

Electricity quantities planned to be offered to suppliers through the mechanism in the fourth quarter this year will be calculated to represent 50 percent of lignite-fired output in the equivalent period of 2020. Then, for every quarter in 2022 and 2023, lignite-fired packages to be offered to PPC’s rivals will represent 40 percent of lignite-based production in equivalent quarters of the respective previous years.

According to the country’s decarbonization plan, all existing lignite-fired power stations will cease operating and no longer participate in the electricity market by the end of 2023.

A prospective PPC facility, Ptolemaida V, is planned to be launched as a lignite-fired power station early in 2023 before it is withdrawn in December, 2024 for a fuel conversion and reintroduction.

 

 

Second market test launched for PPC lignite power packages

The European Commission has launched a second and revised market test to measure the level of interest of independent suppliers in power utility PPC’s lignite-generated electricity packages.

Suppliers have received a questionnaire as part of the procedure, staged following a subdued response to a first test in which participants more or less wrote off PPC lignite-generated electricity packages as a measure that could intensify competition in the electricity market. Participants have until July 14 to forward their responses.

A final antitrust agreement was reached at a mid-May meeting in Athens between energy minister Kostas Skrekas and the European Commission’s Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, also Brussel’s Commissioner for Competition.

Some revisions have been introduced to the lignite-based electricity package solution now being tested. The PPC packages would be offered through the energy exchange futures market, not through bilateral contracts with independent suppliers, as was originally proposed.

A second important revision concerns the pricing formula for these packages. It will now be determined through direct negotiation between the buyer and PPC through the futures market, without a market prices floor. Under the previous model, the price of the packages was based on the wholesale price minus a discount.

According to sources, the mechanism offering lignite electricity packages will remain valid until December, 2024, or, otherwise, will expire as soon as the country’s final lignite-fired power station has been withdrawn, if this precedes the aforementioned date.

Given these dates, the output of PPC’s Ptolemaida V, expected to be launched in 2023, initially as a lignite-fired unit before it converts to gas in 2026, will contribute to the lignite electricity packages.

IPTO factors Balkans into adequacy report calculations

IPTO is taking into account current and potential grid capacities of neighboring Balkan markets for its preparation of an updated adequacy report, a study to serve as a base for various new plans, including the shaping of Greece’s requests for a Capacity Remuneration Mechanism (CRM) and Strategic Reserve, an updated National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP), and private-sector investment decisions for new natural gas-fired power stations.

IPTO is also factoring into its adequacy report calculations the heightened investment interest and activity in Greece’s RES sector, energy storage, now that this domain appears set for initiation, as well as the introduction of new elements to mechanisms and energy exchange markets, including the demand response system, remunerating major-scale electricity consumers when the operator asks them to shift their energy usage or stop consumption during high-demand peak hours, so as to balance the electricity system’s needs.

Electricity grids in the Balkans are being revamped, creating unprecedented electricity export opportunities for Greek exporters. The EU’s intention to impose a carbon border tax on electricity imports from non-EU countries adds to Greece’s export potential to the Balkans, as well as more new natural gas-fired power stations than the quantity included in the current NECP.

Given the developments, Greece now probably needs four new natural gas-fired power stations, including power utility PPC’s Ptolemaida V.

Private-sector firms are pushing ahead their plans for the development of such units, as was highlighted by a related joint announcement last Friday from GEK Terna and Motor Oil.

 

Ptolemaida V gas conversion board decision end of June

Power utility PPC is moving swiftly towards a finalized investment decision on a fuel-conversion plan for its prospective Ptolemaida V facility in northern Greece, to begin operating as a lignite-fired power station in 2022 before converting, a few years later, to a natural gas-fired facility equipped with infrastructure also enabling the use of hydrogen.

PPC’s chief executive Giorgos Stassis will present the plan to the company board at a meeting scheduled for the end of June, when it is expected to be approved, sources informed.

The plan will include schedules and financial studies for the conversion of Ptolemaida V, Greece’s last lignite-fired power station in development.

The PPC board is expected to stick to its plan of operating Ptolemaida V as a lignite-fired power station until 2025, instead of 2028, as was initially planned, before making the fuel switch to natural gas.

The country’s ambitious decarbonization targets and rallying CO2 emission right prices, currently at lofty levels ranging between 40 and 44 euros per ton, prompted Stassis, the CEO, to hasten PPC’s withdrawal of lignite units.

Ptolemaida V will be loss-incurring as a lignite-fired facility, the chief executive told analysts, responding to questions, during a recent presentation of the company’s financial results.

PPC also plans to increase the production capacity of Ptolemaida V to 1,000 MW from 660 MW. The facility will be flexible, possessing the ability to swiftly increase output from 300 to 1,000 MW within 30 minutes to an hour.

The facility’s fuel conversion cost is estimated at 250 million euros, sources have informed.

Stassis told analysts Ptolemaida V will be competitive even without support from the Capacity Remuneration Mechanism (CRM), being sought by the government from the European Commission as support for flexibility.

 

Greece carbon-free by 2025, among 20 fastest movers

Twelve European countries have, to date, fully withdrawn their coal-fired facilities, while a further seven, including Greece, have committed to do so by 2025.

A coal-free status in Greece is expected by 2025 as state-controlled power utility PPC has decided to convert its Ptolemaida V power station to a natural gas/hydrogen-run unit within the next four-and-a-half years, PPC’s chief executive Giorgos Stassis told analysts yesterday, during a presentation of the company’s 2020 results.

The Greek power utility is currently phasing out all other lignite-fired power stations and related mines until 2023.

Besides sparing PPC of certain losses, given an anticipated sharp rise in CO2 emission right costs, this course yet again reaffirms, to investors, PPC’s plan to transform into an eco-friendly corporation.

In addition, the prospect places PPC and Greece among the world’s fastest movers towards decarbonization.

Austria, Albania, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Sweden and Switzerland are all now carbon-free.

France is expected to be added to this list this year, Portugal and Slovakia anticipate their entries in 2023, the UK is seen turning carbon-free in 2024, while Greece, Hungary, Ireland and Italy are planned to join the carbon-free club in 2025.

PPC’s Kardia III and IV lignite power stations set for April 17 withdrawal

Power utility PPC’s Kardia III and IV lignite-fired power stations are nearing withdrawal as the two facilities are due to clock up 32,000 hours of operating time, their limit, on April 17.

PPC has scheduled to close down the two power stations this year as part of a decarbonization plan the company had announced in December, 2019. This plan was included in the National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP).

The two imminent power-station withdrawals, representing a capacity loss of 540 MW, will follow a first stage of exits carried out last year by PPC, when its withdrawal of Amynteo I and II, totaling 546 MW, launched the country’s decarbonization effort.

Besides producing electricity, the two Kardia units, located in Greece’s north, have also been used to provide district heating. Local authorities have asked the energy ministry to keep the two units on standby for a few more weeks until the early spring’s chilly weather is well and truly over.

PPC’s prospective Ptolemaida V unit will eventually take over district heating services following the adoption of intermediate solutions to cover next winter.

PPC also plans to withdraw Megalopoli III, in the Peloponnese, this year, earlier than the 2022 objective listed in the NECP.

IPTO warns PPC against Megalopoli III closure this year

Power utility PPC’s Megalopoli III lignite-fired power station must not be withdrawn within 2021 – let alone about now, as the utility had initially planned – for reasons of grid sufficiency, the power grid operator IPTO has advised in a letter forwarded to PPC and RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy.

IPTO, in its letter, warns against the consequences of two PPC plans, the first, an intention to shut down Megalopoli III by the end of March, and, the second, premature withdrawal of its entire portfolio of lignite-fired power stations by the end of this coming August, or to the extent that is feasible, given grid sufficiency requirements.

Premature withdrawal, this summer, of all the lignite units would result in a capacity shortage measuring approximately 1,000 MW, which would need to be covered by electricity imports, IPTO has warned.

PPC’s chief executive Giorgos Stassis refenced the IPTO letter during yesterday’s Power and Gas Supply Forum, an online event staged by energypress, while commenting on the need to maintain lignite-fired power stations for grid stability, even if these units are now loss-incurring because of elevated CO2 emission right costs.

IPTO does not consent to any lignite unit withdrawals that would be ahead of schedule – based on a PPC plan for 2021 to 2023 – the power utility’s boss stressed during yesterday’s forum.

As a result, Stassis added, PPC will need to be compensated by the European Commission, through a support mechanism proposed by Greek officials, for needing to maintain loss-incurring units.

IPTO, in its letter, reiterated the findings of recent grid sufficiency study, noting that the two-year period from 2021 to 2022, especially the current year, will be crucial. The grid would be particularly exposed to deficiencies if generating capacity is reduced without replacement, the operator warned.

The Mytilineos group plans to launch a new 826-MW combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant next year. Testing is expected to begin in the fourth quarter this year. Also next year, PPC plans to launch its Ptolemaida V unit, initially as a lignite-fired power station.

PPC seeks IPTO support for EC lignite compensation request

Power utility PPC wants power grid operator IPTO to provide a statement declaring whether the power utility’s lignite-fired power stations, nowadays loss-incurring units as a result of elevated carbon emission right costs, are still necessary for the achievement of grid sufficiency, the utility’s objective being to gain support for a lignite compensation request submitted to the European Commission, not to immediately shut down its lignite units, sources have informed.

Brussels has been examining the PPC compensation request for months, initially as part of a package incorporating the European Commission’s lignite antitrust case against Greece, and more recently, following settlement of the latter, as a separate issue that has dragged on.

Throughout the entire period, officials in Greece have needed to respond to extensive Brussels questioning over PPC’s compensation request. Most recently, the European Commission is reported to have informed PPC, by email, that it would deliver a decision as soon as possible, once all information has been processed.

PPC, in its letter to IPTO, informs that it would be prepared to shut down the lignite units now if the operator considers them unnecessary for grid sufficiency as they are the cause of losses on a daily basis.

The power utility has planned a phaseout of its lignite facilities over the next three years, as part of the country’s decarbonization effort.

IPTO, in a grid-sufficiency study covering 2020 to 2030, conducted within the framework of the National Energy and Climate Plan, has stressed the period between 2021 and 2024 will be crucial as a result of PPC’s planned phaseout of lignite-fired power stations.

Subsequently, the grid’s sufficiency will depend on how soon three new gas-fueled power stations with a capacity totaling 2,150 MW – PPC’s Ptolemaida V, and units being developed by Mytilineos and TERNA – will be ready for launch, IPTO’s NECP-linked study noted.

PPC holding back on Ptolemaida V fuel decision

Power utility PPC will take ongoing global technological developments and their comparative costs into account to decide, in approximately a year’s time, on the fuel to be used at its prospective Ptolemaida V power station in northern Greece from 2028 onwards, when a switch from lignite has been scheduled.

The facility, expected to be completed in 2022, is initially planned to operate as a lignite-fired power station for a six-year period before switching to another fuel or fuels.

All options are being left open, meaning that, beyond 2028, Ptolemaida V could run on natural gas, biomass, waste-to-energy or a combination of these energy sources.

Biomass represents an advantageous option as it can be produced at the utility’s older lignite-fired units in the area, PPC’s chief executive Giorgos Stassis has pointed out.

If a biomass option is chosen, PPC intends to provide land for farmers and cooperatives to cultivate plants for energy production. Yield potential and the local climate promise to be the two main factors behind PPC’s selection of plant species to be cultivated for biomass purposes.

Japan’s Mitsubishi, providing the new facility’s electromechanical equipment, was commissioned, some time ago, to conduct a study determining the optimal choice of fuel for Ptolemaida V beyond 2028.

Continued use of lignite, after 2028, at Ptolemaida V has also been tabled as a possibility if carbon-capture utilization and storage (CCUS) technology is applied for a zero net carbon footprint.

In such a case, the CCUS technology could be applied on a wider scale to lure industrial units to the region for the establishment of a new industrial zone.

Telethermal plan for the north enables faster lignite unit exits

Power utility PPC’s prospective combined cooling, heat and power plant in Kardia, northern Greece, will be designed to operate both independently and in connection with Ptolemaida V and provide telethermal needs to the regional provincial cities Ptolemaida and Kozani, seen as vital coverage that will enable the power utility to withdraw lignite-fired units, cost-incurring facilities, sooner than planned.

Ptolemaida V, a new facility nearing its launch and planned to remain as the power utility’s last lignite-fired power station, will spare PPC’s other lignite-fired units in the region from telethermal responsibilities.

This overall plan was agreed to yesterday by the government, municipal authorities, PPC and gas grid operator DESFA.

Ptolemaida V, when operating, will provide necessary telethermal energy through pipelines to the Kardia CCHP unit, which, in turn, will offer heating.

Even when Ptolemaida V is not generating electricity, the prospective Kardia CCHP unit, to run on natural gas, will be able to function independently and offer telethermal needs to residents in the region.

Authorities are pushing for the Kardia unit’s completion and launch by 2022, admitting that it could take until 2023.

PPC to report better 1Q results, approve voluntary exit plan

Power utility PPC will, later today, report significantly improved financial results for the first quarter, compared to the equivalent period a year earlier, sources have informed.

The results, to show higher operating profit and a sustained rebound following a downward trajectory experienced in the final quarter of 2019, according to the sources, will be officially announced once the day’s trading session at the Athens stock exchange has ended.

PPC’s improved results will reflect the positive impact of a series of changes made by the power utility’s new administration last August, especially a decision to increase tariffs, the sources noted.

Interestingly, the financial effects of the pandemic have been subdued as a reduction in electricity-bill collections was far lower than feared, the sources said.

State-controlled PPC may also announce a 160 million-euro financing plan stemming from a European financial institution as a measure to boost the corporation’s cash flow.

The first-quarter results will be accompanied by a PPC announcement on the corporation’s ongoing implementation of initiatives for restructuring and adjustment to modern energy-transition demands, the sourced informed.

Also today, the PPC board is expected to approve a voluntary exit plan for between 700 and 1,000 of approximately 4,500 employees working at the corporation’s lignite-fired power stations units, all headed for closure by 2023. Ptolemaida V, now under construction, will keep operating until 2028, according to the government’s decarbonization plan.

 

Post-lignite era fuel decision for Ptolemaida V next September

Power utility PPC is expected to have reached a decision by next September on the fuel mix to be used at its prospective lignite-fired power station Ptolemaida V beyond 2028, when this facility’s lignite-based operation is planned to end and complete the government’s decarbonization process.

The decision is expected to coincide with next September’s planned launch for Ptolemaida V, currently being constructed as a lignite-fired unit. The government has announced a plan to withdraw all of PPC’s existing coal generators by the end of 2023.

PPC is now looking to make project adjustments at Ptolemaida V that will enable a fuel conversion at the facility for lignite-free operation beyond 2028. Natural gas, biomass and waste-to-energy incineration, even a combination of all three generation methods, have been included as possible options in state-controlled PPC’s new business plan.

The power utility has requested a study from Mitsubishi-Hitachi, constructing the Ptolemaida V project, on future fuel alternatives for the facility. Finalized decisions will be made once the study has been delivered.

PPC chief executive Giorgos Stassis, speaking at a recent general shareholders’ meeting, assured a decision will be made by September, 2020 once all alternatives have been examined for an optimal solution, both technically and economically.

Ptolemaida V, a project with a 0.61-GW capacity budgeted at 1.5 billion euros, is expected to post operating profit before interest, taxes and depreciation if CO2 emission right costs range between 30 and 35 euros per ton, Stassis has noted.

 

Carbon-capture option latest proposal for Ptolemaida V

A carbon-capture proposal that would enable power utility PPC’s Ptolemaida V plant, currently under construction, to keep operating beyond 2028, a decarbonization deadline set by the government, has emerged as the latest option for the project’s future.

Carbon capture, a process preventing carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere, would limit emissions by approximately 80 percent, making the Ptolemaida unit in Greece’s north, close to Kozani, feasible amid an environment of escalating CO2 emission right costs.

It is believed opting for a carbon-capture solution would equate Ptolemaida V’s emission-related costs with those of a natural gas-fired unit. Carbon storage is also being examined.

Ptolemaida V was initially planned as a coal generator but a number of alternatives, including a switch to natural gas powering, are now being considered, especially since the government’s recent pledge of a decarbonized Greek energy sector by 2028.

PPC and energy ministry officials have received the carbon capture proposal for Ptolemaida V.

Greek government MP Giorgos Amanatidis, representing the lignite-rich Kozani constituency, has contacted a scientific team behind the development of a major carbon-capture project in Texas, USA.

The MP has also spoken with investors interested in such a solution for Ptolemaida V.

A carbon-capture option would enable the continuation of lignite mining in the Kozani area, seen as key support for the local economy.

 

Ptolemaida V picture unclear but definitely lignite-free beyond 2028

Though some time is still needed to examine all possible scenarios concerning the future of power utility PPC’s planned Ptolemaida V lignite-fired power station, now under construction, one thing is already clear, the facility will not be lignite-powered beyond 2028.

A highly ranked energy ministry official, speaking to journalists yesterday at the opening ceremony of Greece’s biggest wind energy complex – developed by Italy’s Enel Green Power on the island Evia, slightly northeast of Athens – indicated Ptolemaida V will not be lignite-fired following 2028.

The ministry official reiterated a recent objective set by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis for full decarbonization in Greece by 2028.

All possibilities remain open for Ptolemaida V, from a non-lignite launch of the facility to its eventual conversion from lignite to biomass or natural gas by the 2028 decarbonization goal, the ministry official noted.

“Nothing is certain at the moment as the data, not at all simple, has not been calculated,” the official remarked.

All Ptolemaida V options now being officially examined

A development decision on power utility PPC’s planned lignite-fired Ptolemaida V power station is now officially preoccupying authorities, examining various options, including a fuel switch to natural gas.

All appears possible at this stage. Besides an in-progress report from the McKinsey consulting firm, examining all possible scenarios for the unit along with PPC, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis made reference to the matter for the first time yesterday while speaking at the UN Climate Change Summit. He spoke of total decarbonization in Greece by 2028.

Echoing this remark, energy minister Costis Hatzidakis left open the possibility of a zero-lignite energy mix by 2030 when asked if Greece’s new National Energy and Climate Plan, to soon be submitted to Brussels, would include such a target.

Hatzidakis hinted that such a prospect is possible. However, he did not commit on how the government would choose to handle Ptolemaida V.

“If you were to ask me about the existing lignite-fired power stations, I would have answered that we will have a clear picture on how many of these units are sustainable in three to four weeks,” Hatzidakis noted. “But this is not so for Ptolemaida V, where the matter is very complicated. At this stage, nobody can talk of an optimal solution.”

Contrary to the previous PPC administration, the power utility’s new leadership, headed by Giorgos Stassis, does not consider the Ptolemaida V investment a certainty. However, Stassis and his associates are also aware of how complex the matter is, making abandonment difficult.

For example, abandoning the Ptolemaida V project would severely impact the northern region’s local economy, dependent on lignite activity. Also, PPC has already spent close to 950 million euros. Turbine and generator orders have arrived, while agreements, including EPC contracts, have been signed.

As for the thoughts of a fuel switch, from lignite to natural gas, PPC would be better off building a new gas-fired power station in Lavrio, southeast of Athens, close to gas sources and urban centers consuming considerable electricity amounts.

 

PPC scrutinizing Ptolemaida V power station prospects

Power utility PPC’s new leadership has requested a study examining all data and the potential of its prospective Ptolemaida V power station from consulting firm McKinsey, already commissioned with a wider task of preparing the utility’s new strategic development plan.

The previous PPC administration had ruled out abandoning the Ptolemaida V project or a fuel switch from lignite to natural gas. Though these scenarios will be scrutinized in McKinsey’s study, well-informed sources, in comments to energypress, noted both prospects are highly unlikely.

PPC has already spent between 900 and 950 million euros, needing a further sum of approximately 400 million euros, while turbines and generators have already been ordered and received, sources pointed out.

Also, a fuel switch for Ptolemaida V at this stage would be like developing a natural gas-fired facility from scratch, the only savings being certain building and land costs, estimated to be worth a maximum amount of 50 million euros, the sources added.

Even so, PPC’s chief executive Giorgos Stassis will refuse to consider the Ptolemaida V project a certainty unless the financial impact of various factors – including non-eligibility for CAT remuneration and higher CO2 emission right costs – has been thoroughly examined.

“We don’t know what the preferred choice will be, but must examine all scenarios without any taboos,” a highly ranked PPC official told energypress.

PPC took a decision to develop Ptolemaida V back in 2010 for a variety of reasons, including national energy security and continued lignite activity in Greece’s west Macedonia region.