The Greek Energy System: A brief overview

The Greek Energy System has historically always been in close interplay with the national electricity
vendor.The Public Power Company (PCC), which was founded in the 1950s, has been a vertically
integrated monopoly in power generation and supply for more than 50 years, possessing all the
facilities for the generation, transmission and distribution of electrical energy in the whole Greek
region. Following the relevant European Directives for the liberalization of the Electricity Market, the
PCC has turned from a public company to an S.A. status in 2001. Independent parties were
subsequently allowed to generate and sell energy, and the public is allowed to freely choose its
energy supplier. Following the further reform of the energy sector in a free market for electricity, the
PCC was obliged to separate its transmission and distribution sectors, forming two daughter
companies, the Independent Power Transmission Operator S.A. (IPTO) and the Hellenic Electricity
Distribution Network Operator S.A. (HEDNO) in 2011, which retain the role of a TSO and DSO
respectively. It is underlined that those companies are supposed to operate in a fully independent
status in their economic and administrative part, according to the relevant European directive of
2009. Additionally, the Hellenic Electricity Market Operator S.A. (HEMO) was created in 2011, with
the task to perform the daily energy programming, market audit and final transactions for all the
participants in the daily energy market. A state-maintained independent Regulatory Authority for
Energy (RAE) was also sustained to oversee the Greek energy market.
The Grid System in Greece consists of the interconnected electric grid system in the mainland and
the isolated facilities of the Greek islands. As of 2011 the system was supplying 53 TWh yearly with a
peak load of 10.1 GW. [6] The participation of different technologies in the capacity and energy
production mix of the interconnected system for 2013 can be shown in Figure 1. [1][3] The
interconnected Greek grid is dominated from thermal power plants (mainly coal), while the
significant existing hydroelectric capacity offers a relatively small percentage of the totally generated
energy.

Installed Power (MW) of the Greek

Interconnected Grid System in 2012

1446
3017

1404 348

Energy Production (TWh) of the

Greek Interconnected Grid System
in 2012
3,89

3,16 1,51 1,01

Thermal

Thermal

Hydro

10238

Hydro

W/F

PV

46,47

Other RES

W/F
PV
Other RES

Figure 1 Installed Power (MW) and yearly Energy Production of the Greek Interconnected
Grid System (2012)

Within this report, the main aspects of the Greek electricity system and market will be analyzed. This
is to be achieved with a targeted reference to a series of features. More specifically, the topics
presented will cover the recent developments in the Greek electricity market, the present changes
regarding the generation and consumption sectors, the state and development of the Transmission
and Distribution network, the integration of RES in the system, the regulatory framework and
relevant legislation related to the RES, and finally the prospects of the integration of storage
technology.
1. The electricity market in Greece
Although the liberalization of the energy markets of the member states was clearly introduced in the
European Directives of 1996, 2003, 2009, the liberalization of the Greek market is still in progress. In
an effort to promote competition and avoid unfair market asymmetries, the electricity industry of
Greece has been unbundled in the Sectors of Generation, Transmission, Distribution and Supply.
However, there has been limited success in the effort for an increase of market participants. More
specifically, although between 2004 and 2014 numerous participants have been introduced in the
generation area, as of today the PPC still holds 68% of the installed capacity. The prospect is even
worse in the supply sector. Two major supply companies that had managed to gain access to a high
number of end customers were suspended from the market in 2012 after participating in major
scandals. At this point of time several other companies are engaged in the supply sector, but
maintain a minor share of the supply market (1.5%). Recently, the retail tariffs have been effectively
unbundled, separating charges for monopolistic and competitive activities to the end user, adding
some transparency into the competition of the market. [7]
On the other hand, the Market Operator established operates effectively a wholesale (mandatory
electricity pool) market where a Daily Energy Planning takes place, after the producers/importers and
suppliers/exporters submit offers for their total generation/demand, forming the System Marginal
Price. No individual contracts between generators and suppliers are allowed. [10] Specific HV
costumers are reported to be allowed to take part in the Daily Energy Planning to cover their own
demand directly. Apart from the PCC, three major independent energy firms and two industrial firms
possess generation plants and participate with 9 generating units in the HEMO records. The
independent suppliers possess only gas fired power plants which, although cost efficient, allow the
PCC to be the only company in possession of low cost coal plants, maintaining its predominant
position in the market. At this point of time, HEMO is still under the complete ownership of the
Greek government. [7] In real time conditions, the HEMO is of course not responsible for real time
dispatch, emergency dispatch and import and ancillary services. The TSO is responsible for those
actions along with measurement and definition of deviations from the supposed Daily Planning.
Those deviations are transferred also to HEMO, who is responsible for the necessary corrections in
predefined transactions. [11]
The Regulatory Authority for Energy, although initially having only a consulting character, has
gradually gained independency from the ministry control (2011), and is currently related to the
licensing procedure for new generation units. It is also considered the referee guaranteeing the
proper operation of the electricity market, especially when it comes to fair competition and safety of
energy supply. The State cannot interfere with its decisions, but RAE is financed and manned by the
relevant Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change (MEECC).
2

The Greek government has a high involvement in the electricity market through the actions of
MEECC. The ministry has often participated in regulatory decisions for the electricity market that
would normally not be under its jurisdiction, making the electricity market susceptible to political
influence. In the past, the publicly owned utility has constituted an important tool in the hands of the
government, used for the application of social policies, through the application of low retail tariffs for
specific social teams. The PPC often sets retail prices really low for specific customer categories
making competition very difficult, and existing suppliers are active into the supply of very small
profitable parts of the market, leaving the other market segments to the PPC. In general, the PCCs
objectives have many times not led by the concepts of profit and value maximization, rather the
application of social and political aims. At this point of time, the liberalization process is seen by the
government as a clash between EU agenda and local Unions of Workers, with the Greek government
being rather reluctant to promote it, in fear of losing significant political power.
As of 2014, significant changes are promoted for the electricity market in Greece. The privatization of
the transmission operator is currently in process with 66% of its share capital being offered for sale in
April 2014. The privatization of the PCC has also taken a significant turn, with the PCC being forced by
law to complete a privatization of 30% of its generation capacity until March 2015. The plants to be
privatized contain coal and hydropower plants, as well as proportional mines and customer share, a
step which will largely open up the market and encourage competition. For the remaining state
owned PCC, a transfer of 17% of its shares to private investors is also planned, leaving public shares
under 35% in the near future. The shareholding structure of the Greek PPC will be then the following:

Future Shareholder Structure of the Greek

PCC

Greek State

6,10% 5,90%

New Investors
34,10%

33,10%

3,80%

17,00%

PCC Employees
Foreign Institutional
Investors
Greek Institutional
Investors
Individuals

Figure 2 Future Shareholder structure of the Greek PCC [4]

2. Generation and Consumption
As mentioned, the large majority of the conventional power plants belongs to the national power
company PCC and consists of groups of lignite coal plants in the region of northern Greece (5GW).
Many of those plants have been established in the early 70s and are characterized by very high
environmental burden. After investments of many decades, the lignite exploitation in Greece is
characterized by high productivity and competitiveness, and the excavation costs are very low even
in comparison to industrialized countries [4]. However, the low calorific value of the Greek lignite is
affecting the total electricity generation costs negatively. The construction of new coal powered
3

plants has not yet been halted completely, with at least another 1.5 GW of capacity to be developed
in the near future.
Privately owned conventional thermal plants exist only in the form of natural gas units (combined
circle or open circle) plus some small CHP units, amounting to 22% of installed thermal capacity.
Significant capacity of privately held thermal (mainly natural gas) plants was expected to be
connected in the near future (6.5 GW), although the exact state of the licensed projects is not
verified and many of them will not be implemented due to the general unfavorable investment
climate and changing electricity market scenery. The participation of different conventional fuel
technologies in the installed thermal capacity is shown in Figure 3. The private sector benefited a lot
from gas powered plants up to 2008, but the situation has changed against them afterwards due to
unfavorable weather conditions, oil prices and the effect of the financial crisis [8].
The PCC also possesses all of the installed hydropower capacity in the categories >15MWp (around 3
GW of installed capacity). The most important ones are located in central and north parts of the
country, with only a small percentage (23%-0.7 GW) of them being able to back pump water. The
energy generation for 2013 split per owner party as well as per type of generation is shown in Figure
4. [4] As of 2013 PPC units covered 66% of total demand, while imports amounted to 10%. The
imports are mainly covered by power excesses of Bulgaria and Romania where significant nuclear
capacity exists. Macedonia and Italy are smaller exporters of energy, while Albania a steady importer.

Conventional thermal units capacity installed in

the Greek network in MW (March 2013)
Lignite plants
508 334
4930
3736
730

Petrol plants
Natural Gas (combined
circle)
Natural Gas (open circle)
CHP Units

Figure 3 Conventional thermal units capacity installed in the Greek network in MW

(March 2013)
The public power company had in the past a priority to promote the construction and commissioning
of new, state of the art units with a main focus in renewables, an area on which it has a weak
participation. A daughter company of the PCC, PCC Renewables S.A. was founded in 1982 with that
task, but its losing ground in the RES market in the last years (<3%of generated RES energy in 2013).
The investment policy at this specific time point under the effect of the PCC privatization and
deregulation remains unclear.

Electricity Generation and Imports in 2013

GWh
45
40
35
30

2,94
3,94
4,37

RES

5,64

Natural Gas

25

Oil

20
15

Hydroelectric

8,6

23,23

Lignite

10
8,21

5,79

0
PPC Generation

Third Party
Generation

Imports

Figure 4 Electricity Generation and Imports in 2013

On the consumption side, the effect of the financial crisis was very evident, with demand for
electricity dropping 6% in 2012 since 2008. Forecasted values also decreased for the next decade.
The demand decrease mainly related to industrial demand drop (>20% only in 2009) and less to
residential demand. The PPC has responded with big reductions in kWh costs for big industrial
players to counter this tendency in November 2014, hoping to gain back the difference through
increased consumption. The installation of residential PV is another factor of decrease for the total
demand on the TSO side. Load peaks in the country generally appear in July/August while minimums
appear in April during Easter. The TSO has at this moment big problems in projecting the
consumption prediction to the near future due to the unpredictable effect of the Greek financial
crisis to the consumption patterns. Peak predictions are even more problematic due to unexpectedly
variable weather patterns in the last decade.

58

TWh

Yearly Demand Evolution in Greece

56

Energy
Demand

54
52
50
48
46
44
42
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Figure 5 Yearly Demand Evolution in Greece

5

3. Transmission System
Generally, the backbone of the Greek transmission system has been a three line 400 kV system,
transporting power from the 5 coal factory sites in North Greece to the highly loaded area around
Athens. The system is dominated by overhead lines both in 400 kV and 150 kV levels on shore, while
some 150 and 66 kV cable systems are used for the interconnection of a limited number of islands.
Traditionally the system operator has faced problems due to this high imbalance between north and
south, especially during extended periods of very hot summers. However, it is claimed by the TSO
that the problem has been partially tackled with new grid infrastructure, increase of generation in
Southern Greece, and the increased introduction of RES locally.
Reactive power compensation takes places mainly in the MV side of step down substations with
static capacitor banks on the medium voltage side of the 150kV/MV substations (4200 MVar).
Compensation with shunt reactors is applied to submarine cable systems. No reference exists in the
TSO reports to the use of flexible AC transmission system schemes. The residential peak loads of
summer are mainly inductive, and create a need for reactive power compensation in the big city
centers. The TSO reports the installation of several PLC equipped automation systems, for the
optimal control of the installed capacitor banks. [1]
Most 150kV/MV step down and step up substations (Distribution, RES connection, conventional
plants connections) also belong to the TSO, apart from a small number in the area around Athens
(belonging to the DSO). All 400kV/150 kV step down and step up sites belong to the TSO.
Decreased demand and increase in the integration of RES has led to a decrease/postponement of
projects in the area of transmission systems (load demand related) especially concerning the large
cities. As a result, projects related with an additional 400kV line across the country as well as two
major HV substations have been postponed. Still however the 400kV system is being expanded in the
regions of Thrace and Peloponnesus, with the latter being really important to ensure system stability
and increase power transfers from the energy producing region. Some 150 kV lines constructions and
upgrades are being reported in order to integrate wind farms and new thermal power plants and
better service big city centers. The TSO reports high delays in a high number of projects due to lack of
public acceptance and a slow licensing procedure. It is repeatedly reported, that lack of public
acceptance is a significant obstacle in Greece transmission system projects.
Still various grid expansions and upgrades are essential for RES integration. Sources support that the
mainland electricity grid of the country can support the integration of 5000-5500 MW of wind power
capacity without major stability problems. Even so, the target of 7500 MW until 2020 will definitely
need major change in structure and operation of production and transmission. [3] Such projects have
already been described in the Ten Year National TSO plan of 2014. The TSO states that those
infrastructure projects will be enough to cover the power transmission tasks related with high RES
integration of 2020. [1] It is understood that the participation of the private sector in network
construction is very limited, as those projects are mostly assigned by the TSO to the PPC. An increase
of participation on the technical realization side as well as on the co-financing side of new projects
would benefit network reinforcement/expansion.
The TSO reports several projects related with constructing and upgrading HV lines and substations,
new line connections with nearby countries, projects for the connection to the system of new
customers and energy generators. The TSO is fully responsible for funding and realization of the first
6

two project categories and the cost is reflected to the fees paid by all the users of theTSOs
infrastructure. For projects of the third category the relevant user is responsible for financing and the
implementation is either done by the TSO or the user. Either way after construction, the new
infrastructure belongs to the TSO in a form of a natural monopoly.
At the time of speaking, numerous RES projects have all the necessary licenses and an obligatory
allocation of transmission capacity from the TSO side but are not implemented. This results in
reservation of unused transmission capacity and a subsequent turning down of a high number of
further applications. In other regions high concentration of RES capacity threatens the transmission
capability. Regions that are considered very highly saturated are Evvoia, Thrace, Peloponnese, Kilkis
and numerous islands. Additionally, existence of saturated grids in areas of high potential, creates a
unwanted shift in investment towards areas of moderate or low wind potential [3].
The interconnection of more islands to the central system is also of high priority for the TSO, in order
to bring down costs and increase safety and reliability of supply. The interconnection of the island of
Crete is of extremely high importance due to the existence of significant loads and RES potential
locally, but is also considered expensive and technically challenging. It is considered to be completed
until the end 2019. Interconnection of some of the islands nearby to Athens is also a point of high
focus, and is expected to be completed until 2016. The autonomous island systems amount to 10% of
the total consumption and are considered very expensive and environmentally unfriendly (petrol).
Interconnection of autonomous islands would also be very beneficial due to their very high wind
potential.
The Greek TSO is a member of ENTSO-E since 2004 and operates in synchronization with the
European interconnected system, which is also mainly responsible for generally guiding transmission
system planning after 2025. This is achieved by synchronized interconnection through (mainly) 400
kV lines with Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria and recently Turkey, and unsynchronized interconnection
with Italy (submarine HVDC 500 MW cable). The Greek TSO has interest in the development of
interconnection projects in Southeastern Europe as well as the creation of transmission projects from
within the European continent. However, it is noted that the poor grid situation in the northern
neighboring countries are a significant restriction to the beneficial effect of interconnection. Existing
and planned 400 kV interconnections are depicted in Figure 6.
The ancillary services prescribed in the ENTSO-E are implemented by the TSO in coordination with
the energy producers. Those services include primary, secondary and tertiary frequency response
and backup availability. The TSO currently maintains a SCADA system, which is part of its Energy
Management System. Real time measurements of voltage and power flows from the system
substations are collected and used to perform the real time system state estimation process, the
results of whom are used along with results from load flow and voltage stability analysis tools in
various TSO coordination actions. The most common control action is reactive power compensation
with the target to dangerous voltage drops. Such drops are usually encountered through
disconnection of reactor banks, energizing of static capacitor banks in MV and then in HV, control
actions for synchronous compensation units (not FACTS) and changes in the positions of
autotransformers taps, in that specific order. Other collected information is related to the availability
and operating condition of generation units, availability of interconnections and possible important
issues of the distribution grid side. [11]
7

Figure 6 Diagram of the interconnection infrastructure in the Southern Balkans region

The TSO also solves daily an optimization problem similar to the day ahead prediction of the HEMO,
which also includes additional stability related technical restrictions (e.g. stability, reserve availability
restrictions). The results of that are the somehow real hourly day-ahead program, for generation
and primary, secondary and tertiary reserve. In case of emergency, the TSO also has the capability to
recalculate and coordinate an intraday dispatch program, taking the new data into account, e.g. the
loss of a line. Finally, the TSO solves a real time dispatch problem every 5 minutes, which performs
the final correction of the MW values in real time, for the systems units. [11]
The TSO is interested in IKT applications, development of market tools which allow an active
participation from the demand side in forming the generation-consumption balance. Construction of
a new Energy Control Center is reported, supporting the latest communication protocols, info
exchange between network operators, and market functions. The TSO currently rents services from
Greek telecommunications companies.
The Greek TSO claims that he has installed and successfully operates an Information Management
System, which performs all of the above tasks. Its capabilities include: [11]

A system loading prediction mechanism

A platform for the solution of the described daily optimization problem

A platform for the solution of the described real time dispatch problem every 5 minutes

A telecommunications system for the transmission of the dispatch commands to the TSOs
control room where they are displayed in an appropriate controller-friendly display
environment

An automated generation control unit, automatically regulating units that allow a distant
control of their real power generation

State estimation software

A SCADA system, its relevant control system and relevant databases

The participants in the electric market can also connect through the internet to a part of this system
related with interchange of information regarding the energy market. The TSO apart from internet
and telephone communication, utilizes a power line carrier option allowing uninterruptible
communication with the users and the DSO. The TSO is responsible for defining the alarm state and
implement the necessary countermeasures in case of emergency of the system.
4. RES information
The amount of production by RES in the share of national final energy consumption is set at 18% for
2020 by EU Directive 2009/28/EC. The Greek Parliament has turned the Directive into a law, setting a
target of 40% for RES electricity compared to the gross national electricity consumption for 2020.
At the end of 2012, RES contributed around 26% of electricity demand, with 11% from large
hydropower, 7% wind, 8% from photovoltaic plants, small hydro (run of river) and biogas. It is
reported that the already interconnected capacity of RES generation does not overcome the 2014
mid-targets of the 2020 plan. [1] On PV, the situation is far more better, with the operating and
planned-to-be-connected capacity already overcoming the target for 2020. This is attributed to the
previously existing support scheme on PV, the decreased PV projects development cost and a
decrease in burocrasy for licensing, especially for installations <100kW. [2] The high penetration of
PV is expected to affect the loading patterns for the transmission system, with the loading peaks for
the grid shifting towards the night hours. There are reported effects from wind farm surplus during
the night and/or midday peaks due to PV. [1] As of 2014, nooffshore wind parks exist in Greece [2].
RES integration has created the need for distributed, quickly dispachable, conventional fuel units to
cover the changing demand as well as the need for more pumping stations on existing hydropower
plants. The TSO recognizes the need for changes in operational level to ensure safety in a system
with high RES penetration without further comments. [1] Other sources also suggest the need for
more availability of such dispatchable plants in order to work in close collaboration with the wind
farms. Since significant investment in gas fired power plants already exists today, it remains to be
seen how this issue will evolve and how the classic problems from the coordination of gas and RES
that occurred in central Europe will be tackled in the Greek system.
Wind farms are usually connected at the 150 kV voltage level. The main investment in windpower is
in non-dispersed high power units with a capacity in the range of 20 MW. Smaller wind farms in the
area of 8 MW and small hydroelectric plants under 5 MW are connected in MV. There is very high
potential for small hydropower plants in the mountain regions, but the distances are prohibiting for
installation of new MV lines. The Greek TSO has licensed projects on renewable energy for more than
25 GW totally. At the end of 2013, however only 3,9 GW were installed. The Greek TSO claims that
the sum of the RES projectsunder the status of Binding Connection Offers will be sufficient in order to
cover the targets of 2020. Figure 7shows the already installed capacity, the capacity of RES projects
under Binding and Non-Binding Connection Offers in comparison with the target capacity for 2014
9

and 2020 for different categories of RES generation. It is obvious that the capacity to be installed will
probably cover the 2020 targets, with the only definite problems in the area of biomass participation.

Capacity (MW)
Type

In
Operation
(Oct 2013)
1520
2059

Intermediate
Target 2014

Binding
Connection
Offers
4393
1471

Non-binding
connection
offers
13845
1263

Target for
2020

Wind
4000
7500
PV
1500
2200
Micro
220
300
78
288
350
Hydro
Biomass
46
200
50
198
350
CHP
90
8
11
Sum
3935
6000
6002
15605
10400
Figure 7 RES capacity for different development stages and generation technologies
It is however noted that there is high delay between licensing and actual realization of RES projects.
Further requests for already licensed projects are often, while licensed projects need to file
connection requests. The TSO notes that he is unable to accurately plan connections and program in
the future development of the networka uniform way. It is mentioned that the actual absolute target
values per technology may be revised in the near future in the framework of the upcoming national
energy roadmap to 2030 and the assessment of the national energy mix.
5. Regulatory initiatives - Legislative amendments regarding RES
A significant problem for RES installations is the lack of detailed geographical data bases, defining
land uses, forest registries etc. The RES space planning framework went into effect at the end of
2008, however there are appeals against the constitutionality of the measure. Other problems are
related with objections coming from the local Archaelogical services and the Ministry of Tourism. It is
very critical that the processing of applications passed in 2010 from a sequential to a parallel
processing scheme reducing licensing time by 3-4 years. [3] However the new legislation created a
congestion of applications and a difficulty to maintain the supposed deadlines by the authorities
concerned. Further improvement in administrative barriers is suggested in the following areas:
-

Standardization of the criteria for licensing/permitting authorities

Enforcement of binding response times to relevant authorities

Reduction of paperwork and burocracy for minor changes in operating installations

Simplification/Unificationof legislation especially in relation with environmental issues

Review problematic projects reserving network capacity although not being implemented

In general, it is obvious that the barriers are located mainly before the connection period of the new
RES units and not in the development or operational phase. [5] One thing of high importance would
be to somehow distinguish the licensing applications that are actually going to be implemented by
the relevant authorities and filter out projects that do not exhibit a significant investing maturity
level. An annual fee has been introduced in 2013 for unimplemented licensed projects as well as
strict timeframes on the validity of installation licenses have been imposed, in order to push towards
10

quick realization of RES projects. In the same direction, laws allowing overcoming the congestion
limit by 20% from the TSO when granting connection offers have been enacted. The effect of those
measures is not yet clear. [2]
For the support of integration of renewables, Greece maintains a Feed in Tariff regime,
differentiating the tariffs depending on the technology and project size. [2] In the case of PVs a
disproportionality was observed in the last years with high Feed in Tariffs and reduced installation
costs leading to a high, unpredicted penetration of PV installed capacity, which led to deficits in the
Special Accounts of the Electricity Market Operator that realizes the payments to RES producers. As a
result the feed in tariffs have been largely readjusted in 2012. Apart from that, PV were excluded by
right to investment subsidies in 2013, which now apply only to hydro, hybrid, biomass and biogas
technologies and can amount to up to 35-50% of the total costs. However, all RES are eligible for tax
incentives. The evolution of the Feed in Tariff for PV in Greece can be found in Figure 8. [2][5]
With fixed long term feed-in tariff contracts for different RES producers, it is understandable that the
RES producers do not participate in an energy market and thus have no market risk to their
investment. They are compulsory participating in a day-ahead market mechanism, with a priority
dispatch regime. Those conditions are considered favorable for further RES deployment. [5] No
intraday market mechanism exists in Greece as of today. No ancillary services are prescribed for RES
units in Greece as of today. Curtailment of RES by the TSO is fully allowed with no previous notice,
and with no specific circumstances outlined for when it is allowed [5].
/MW
h

Figure 8: Evolution of the Feed in Tariff for PV in Greece

11

The Feed in Tariffs for most generation technologies have been steady since their enforcement in the
2010 Renewable Energy Law: [8]

Feed in Tariff (/Wh)

Energy Generated From:
Onshore wind power > 50 kW
Onshore wind power 50 kW
Micro hydro 15 We
Solar thermal plants
Solar thermal plants with storage system ensuring min. 2
hours of operation under nominal load
Low Enthalpy Geothermal
High Enthalpy Geothermal
Biomass plants (not incl. municipal waste treatment) > 5
MW
Biomass plants (not incl. municipal waste treatment) 5
MW and > 1 MW
Biomass plants (not including municipal waste
treatment) 1 MW
Biogas plants (incl. biogas from municipal waste) >2MW
Biogas plants (incl. biogas from municipal waste) 2MW
Biogas from agricultural and livestock waste 3 MW
Biogas from agricultural and livestock waste > 3 MW
Other RES (incl. Biomass plants from municipal waste)

Interconnected
System
87,85

Non-Interconnected
System
99,45
250
87,85
264,85
284,85
150
99,45
150
175
200
99,45
120
220
200

87,85
99,45
87,85*NG
CHP units
99,45*NG Clause
Clause
Figure 9: Steady Feed in Tariffs for different RES technologies

According to the same law, those tariffs can be increased by 15-20% when the project is
implemented without any state subsidy. The Natural Gas clause in CHP is related with the current
natural gas price for energy production in the Greek Market, and the efficiency grade of the unit. For
the PV installations, a gradually reduced FiT for units installed was developed up to 2014. The initial
tariffs that were prescribed in the 2010 law were abolished and rapidly decreased for new
installations by following laws/corrections. Those corrections even included a temporary suspension
of further PV licensing 2012, additional taxes for the owners of PV, and even an one-sided breaking
of existing PV contracts, leading to a 30-40% reduction of existing feed in tariffs for producers, with a
retroactive application. At this point of time the PV market in Greece is frozen with a very high loss
of confidence for market stability, with the installed capacity for 2014 not surpassing 5,5 MW, in
comparison with more than one GW in 2013! The Market Operator on the other hand, faces very
high difficulties paying the extremely high (at least up to now) RES Tariffs, and different emergency
measures have been applied in order to supply HEMO with the necessary sums, for example the
capital coming from auctioning Green House emissions rights or the levy for the Public Television!
Only the small rooftop PV of a capacity smaller than 10 kWp were not affected by the licensing
suspension, with the feed in tariff for those set at 125 /Wh at end of 2013, with a projected
decrease of 5 /Wh every year. The licensing suspension was lifted in December 2013. [2][8]

12

Feed in Tariff (/Wh)

Interconnected
Non-Interconnected
System
System
>100 kW
100 kW
>100 kW
2009.1
400
450
450
500
2009.2
400
450
450
500
2010.1
400
450
450
500
2010.2
392,04
441,05
441,05
2011.1
372,83
419,43
419,43
2011.2
351,01
394,89
394,89
2012.1
292,08
328,60
328,60
2012.2
180,80
225,00
225,00
2013.1
95,00
120,00
100,00
2013.2
95,00
120,00
100,00
2014.1
90,00
115,00
95,00
2014.2
90,00
115,00
95,00
Figure 10 Evolution of Feed in Tariffs for different PV installation categories.

Semester of Connection

6. Distribution grid issues End user power supply

The Greek DSO (HEDNO) is supposed to be an independent organization, granting access to the
distribution networks equally to all energy suppliers and consumers. It is generally responsible for
the reliable, efficient and safe operation of the Greek distribution grid, which operates in 20 kV.
However, since the PCC is the main stakeholder, there is a reported issue of the HEDNO not seriously
considering the interest of independent producers in grid planning, possibly in favor of the interests
of the PCC.[5]
The residential customers are at this point of time almost exclusively equipped with the obsolete
magnetic consumption meters. The energy consumption measurement is performed every 4 months.
Some small scale telemetry systems are being developed for low voltage consumers with installed
power over 55 kVA and medium voltage consumers. The project is expected to be fulfilled until
March 2015. Other than that, no advanced metering and automation infrastructure projects exist in
the Greek distribution system. A relevant law of 2011 for further promotion of a liberalized energy
market, mandated the promotion of smart meters, with the target to cover 80% of the customers
until 2020, but it has not been yet implemented. An active competition for a pilot project on smart
grids exists at the internet site of HEDNO. When it comes to Demand Side Management concepts, a
morning/evening price differentiation program is quite widespread for residential customers since
the 1980s.
At this point it must also be noted, that only a small number of Greek city centers possess natural gas
distribution infrastructure, an important note for the potential of residential CHP units development
in Greece.
7. On Storage Potential
Facilitating energy storage is necessary to allow high penetration of intermittent renewable energy.
The development for the needed Energy Storage to achieve high penetration targets will logically be
addressed by Pumped Hydro Energy Storage (PHES). As stated the current grid can safely absorb the
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energy of WF capacity in the area of 5 GW. Even for this restricted amount, increased curtailments
will be unavoidable, exceeding 20% in 2020 scenarios, calling for installation of sufficient storage
capacity. [6] The author of [6] supports pumped storage as the most realistic, reliable and mature
technology for large scale systems in Greece. The probability of the utilization of Battery Storage
Systems remains unknown. For the targets of 2020 at least 1GW of PHES capacity is required
(existing 0.7 GW) by the existing national roadmap directives. The author of [6] considers this
amount insufficient and believes that it will not be able to absorb more than 25% of the excess
energy on 2020.
Bibliography:
[1]: Independent Power Transmission Operator,Ten Year Network Development Plan 2014-2023,
March 2013.
[2]: Ministry of Environment Energy and Climate Change, Second Progress Report on the Promotion
and Use of Energy from Renewable Sources in Greece, 2014
[3]: Greek Association of RES electricity producers, Overcoming RES Permitting and Grid Access
Barriers in Greece, January 2012
[4]: ArthourosZervos: Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of PPC, Annual Ordinary General Meeting
of Shareholders, June 2014
[5]: Eclareon GmbH, ko-Institute.V., Integration of electricity from renewables to the electricity grid
and to the electricity market RES Integration, March 2012
[6]: John Anagnostopoulos, Dimitris Papantonis, Overview of the electricity system status and its
future development scenarios Assessment of the energy storage needs, February 2013
[7]: Nikolaos Danias, John Kim Swales, Peter McGregor: The Greek Electricity Market Reforms:
Political and Regulatory Considerations, July 2013
[8]: The Greek Goverment, Law3851/2010: Accelerating the development of Renewable Energy to
address climate change and other provisions relating to the jurisdiction of the Ministry of
Environment, Energy and Climate Change, June 2010,
[9]: The Greek Goverment, Law3851/2011: On the operation of Energy Markets for electricity and
gas in the areas of research, production and transmission of Hydrocarbons and other settings, August
2011
[10]: Hellenic Electric Market Operator: Electric Power Transactions Code Manual, August 2013
[11]: Independent Power Transmission Operator: Dispatch Manual, November 2012

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