Gas grid operator DESFA has added to its 10-year development plan a construction and management plan for three TAP outlets covering energy needs in the country’s west Macedonia region, energypress sources have informed.

This region in northern Greece is currently heavily dependent on lignite but requires an energy source adjustment as a result of the planned closure of power utility PPC’s coal generators and mines.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has pledged full decarbonization in Greece by 2028.

Last year, RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, had asked DESFA to include a natural gas supply plan for west Macedonia in its updated 10-year development plan, running from 2020 to 2029, as regional energy cover during Greece’s transition period leading to a green-energy future.

According to initial estimates, the TAP outlets, looking likely to be developed in the Ptolemaida, Kastoria, Naoussa and Edessa locations, will cost between 3 and 4 million euros.

TAP, the international consortium behind the TAP project, to bring Azeri gas to European markets via a route that includes a pipeline section running through northern Greece, has offered its consent for supply to the aforementioned Greek regions.

If DESFA submits its updated ten-year plan within the current month, RAE should be ready to offer its approval by the beginning of 2020, following public consultation.