Thessaloniki

Enaon EDA plans €61.4m digital upgrade of gas meters by 2028

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Gas distribution network operator Enaon EDA has incorporated a 61.4 million-euro investment plan into its new five-year development plan covering 2024 to 2028 to replace conventional natural gas meters with upgraded digital versions.

Enaon EDA, as the new single distribution network operator under the umbrella of the Italian energy group Italgas has been named, plans to install 568,980 smart meters by 2028 for existing and new connections in various parts of Greece.

The 61.4 million-euro upgrade to smart meters is part of the company’s wider 769 million-euro development plan covering 2024 to 2028.

Enaon EDA, according to the company plan, intends to install just over 184,000 smart meters in the wider Athens area, the budget of this initiative worth 22.45 million euros. It also plans to install just under 270,000 smart meters in the Thessaloniki area at a cost of 26 million euros, as well as nearly 115,000 smart meters in the Thessaly region, this segment of the plan budgeted at 11.4 million euros.

Major gas distribution tariff cuts a boost for industry

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EDA THESS premises in Thessaloniki were visited by the President of the Federation of Industries of Greece (SBE), Mr. Athanasios Savvakis where he was welcomed by the General Manager, Mr. Leonidas Bakouras and executives of the Company.

During the meeting, the General Manager informed about the approved Development Plan 2021-2025 amounting to ~ 156 million € which is already being implemented supporting the development of the areas of responsibility of EDA THESS. As part of this ambitious Program, the Company aims to integrate more and more industries in the gas distribution network. The expansion of natural gas use to energy-intensive production units leads to an increase in their energy efficiency, to a reduction in the energy cost while at the same time environmental performance is improved.

It is worth noting that in 2020, for the region of Thessaloniki the industries MEL SSA, MEVGAL SA, Souroti SA, Roka SA, Onassis SA, B. Maliouris SA and the new gas station using CNG of EKO SA in Thessaloniki signed a connection contract, while for Thessaly the companies HELLENIC DAIRIES SA, AGRODER IKE, VIOLAR SA, CVBTECH HELLAS MIK, D,KISSA BROS & CO OE.

At the same time, Mr. Bakouras pointed out that the critical decline of distribution tariffs derives from the development planning, consistent and full implementation of an integrated strategy with profitable investments, based on technical and economic criteria. From the 1st of January the weighted average distribution tariff of EDA THESS that has been approved by the Authority shows a further decline of 14.8% in Thessaloniki and 21.9% in Thessaly, compared to the previous regulatory period.

Even more impressive is the reduction for the industrial consumers, who now enjoy reduced distribution tariffs by 45% in Thessaloniki and 56% in Thessaly compared to the distribution tariff applied in the previous regulatory period.

For his part, Mr. Savvakis expressed his satisfaction for the shaping of distribution prices at lower levels. He stressed that such a development is quite positive for the productive base and acts as an accelerator in attracting new investments, turning the region into an investment hub. By this way, the interest of investors for the development of companies in the industrial sector is mobilized, as a healthier, more flexible, and competitive environment with low energy costs is established. In this direction, EDA THESS through targeted investments, further strengthens the perspective of infrastructure development both in Northern Greece and in other areas of its License.

In line with the National Plan for Energy and Climate objectives, EDA THESS achieves the increase of natural gas penetration, contributing to the boost of the productive restructuring.

IPTO: Thessaloniki RSC headquarters for southeast Europe in July

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A Regional Security Coordinator (RSC) role for Thessaloniki planned by Greek power grid operator IPTO with its Romanian and Bulgarian peers, Transelectrica and ESO-EAD, respectively, will be ready for launch, from its headquarters in the northern Greek city, in the first week of July, energypress sources have informed.

IPTO chief executive Manos Manousakis has declared the headquarters for southeast Europe’s RSC will be in Thessaloniki.

The Thessaloniki RSC plan was established by the Greek, Romanian and Bulgarian operators following years of negotiations with ENTSO-E, the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity.

According to EU law, all European operators must, as of 2020, hand over a list of responsibilities to one regional security coordinator with headquarters at an EU member state.

These responsibilities include capacity calculation coordination, common network model development and regional security coordination.

RAE: Market interest needed to develop Greece-Fyrom pipeline

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Sufficient market interest will be needed if a natural gas pipeline linking Thessaloniki and Fyrom (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) and an LNG bunkering facility on the islet Revythoussa, just of Athens, are to be developed, RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, has noted in response to a ten-year gas system development plan (2017-2026) submitted by gas grid operator DESFA.

RAE offered its conditional approval of DESFA’s plan for the Thessaloniki-Fyrom pipeline, a project budgeted at 48.7 million euros, as long as market test, including binding capacity reservation offers, is previously conducted.

As for the Revythoussa LNG bunkering facility plan, the energy authority acknowledged the project could be required in the future as a result of the shipping LNG market’s anticipated growth, while noting DESFA has yet to submit a complete plan and feasibility study supporting its sustainability.

A decision on the induction of this project into DESFA’s ten-year plan will be reached once a comprehensive plan has been submitted, RAE added.

DESFA is looking at developing an LNG bunkering facility to serve the refueling needs of vessels with capacities ranging from 1,000 to 20,000 cubic meters.

RAE also approved a plan for the development of a natural gas compressor station needed for the gas system’s hydraulic stability once the TAP pipeline, running through northern Greece, begins operating.

EDA THESS gains praise for impressive impact on gas market

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The recently formed gas distribution company EDA THESS, established to serve the wider Thessaloniki and Thessaly regions, is swiftly emerging as a formidable market player providing the most attractive offers and enjoying rapid growth and robust financial results. Business and political figures, including local authorities, visiting the company’s booth at the ongoing Thessaloniki International Fair all agreed that the company has made an impressive market entry.

Aiming to increase natural gas’s market penetration, EDA THESS was launched as a fully independent natural gas network operator for the wider Thessaloniki and Thessaly regions on December 30, 2016.

The company’s impressive strategic planning promises to ensure sustained growth in the future, pundits believe.

Since the launch of their development 16 years ago, the natural gas networks of Thessaloniki and Thessaly have attracted 54 percent of the total population in these regions, well above levels reached by other European countries. In France and Germany, for example, the gas market’s penetration has not yet reached 50 percent.

EDA THESS aims to increase this gas market penetration level to 58 percent by 2021.

Despite having to deal with adjusting to a new market framework, EDA THESS managed to increase its new connections by 60.3 percent in the first half of 2017, compared to the equivalent period a year earlier. Also in the first half this year, the company registered a 28 percent increase in the amount of natural gas distributed.

The company, according to its development strategy, plans to invest 97 million euros on network and infrastructure development between 2017 and 2021, the objective being to increase the network’s coverage by 20 percent through extensions of existing lines as well as development of new ones. The initiave aims to attract a further 61,000 households to the gas network operated by EDA THESS.