TSO

TSO operating costs examined in effort to contain energy cost

Posted on by admin

RAAEY, the Regulatory Authority for Waste, Energy and Water, is scrutinizing the operating costs of all TSOs in Greece with the aim of limiting these costs to the absolute essentials and, by extension, contain, as much as possible, expenses relayed to consumers through regulated surcharges on electricity and natural gas bills.

The authority’s initiative echoes an effort being made by the energy ministry to restrict, to the greatest degree possible, energy costs for households and enterprises.

As part of the effort, a new retail electricity tariff system simplifying price comparisons of variable and fixed tariff options for consumers, as a means of intensifying competition between suppliers and subduing prices, was launched January 1.

Though capital expenditure of TSOs infiltrates energy bills, its benefits can be expected to eventually lead to lower energy costs for consumers in the medium term. However, this is not the case with operating costs which, one way or another, could either be avoided or covered by operator profit.

Talks for Green Aegean link, from Greece to Germany, gain momentum

Posted on by admin

A prospective Green Aegean grid interconnection project, planned to run from Greece to Germany’s south, facilitating exports of significant amounts of green energy as part of a wider effort to transport energy from Europe’s south to north, is gaining momentum through ongoing communication between Greek power grid operator IPTO and four German electricity transmission operators. Additionally, the international policy offices of the Greek and German energy ministries are becoming more actively involved in the project.

Though, quite clearly, the green transition stands no chance of succeeding without the development of major international interconnections for exports of colossal green energy quantities from south to north, coordinating such a transboundary project is a highly complex task, as efforts to date have shown.

From a technical point of view, an initial Greek proposal envisions a cable with a total transmission capacity of approximately 3 GW. This capacity would be boosted to 6 GW through a second round of work and eventually be further upgraded to 9 GW, according to the Greek proposal.

IPTO has worked on two alternative cable routes, both involving Albania. One proposal concerns an overland route across Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia and Austria before concluding in Germany’s south. The Greek power grid operator’s other proposed route, which includes an underwater crossing, would run alongside the Albanian coast to Slovenia and then follow a n overland route to Austria and southern Germany.

IPTO is currently engaged in talks with each of Germany’s four transmission system operators (TSOs) – Transnet, Tenne, Amprion and 50 Hertz – covering separate German regions, to determine the extent of Berlin’s support for the Green Aegean project.

Greece and Germany, Europe’s biggest consumer of green energy, will need to reach an agreement on the project before an application can be lodged to the European Commission. If the effort moves ahead, PCI/PMI status will be sought for the project.

At present, there is no clarity on the project’s financing plan. Last March, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told an EU Summit that the project would require funding from a variety of European programs. A European Grid Facility needs to be established to fund new multi-billion budget networks that will be able to support additional green energy, he noted.

As yet, no moves been made to modernize outdated grid infrastructure, especially in the western Balkans, lying between Europe’s south and north. This infrastructure will require a revamp in order to carry enormous amounts of green electricity stemming from the east Mediterranean, Egypt and Africa’s north.

Greece is now at a critical crossroads in terms of its green production potential, which will increasingly exceed domestic demand. On September 10, a new record of green electricity production was set, renewables covering up to 140 percent of domestic demand. Surplus amounts were exported, indicating what lies ahead and highlighting the need for solutions.