Commencement of electricity auctions, with the state’s blessing no less, will soon be a reality Greece, where households, businesses and industries for decades relied on a state-run utility that held an absolute monopoly on the generation, transmission and sale of electricity.
Commencement of electricity auctions, with the state’s blessing no less, will soon be a reality Greece, where households, businesses and industries for decades relied on a state-run utility that held an absolute monopoly on the generation, transmission and sale of electricity.
Following the expected decision by the Regulatory Energy Agency (RAE) to approve the framework for electricity auctions, which was published in the Government Gazette, companies active in the sector must proceed with one remaining step, namely, registration in a registry of electricity suppliers and traders, in order to participate in auctions and to operate in the secondary market.
The auctions, under the French-inspired “NOME” framework, will also allow the Public Power Corp.’s (PPC) lignite-fueled unit and hydro-electric plans to sell electricity directly to suppliers, in a bid to open the market and make energy cheaper for businesses and producers.
The development comes after a memorandum-mandated bill (4389/2016) was passed by the Greek Parliament in late May 2016, entitled "Urgent Regulations for Implementation of Agreements on Fiscal Targets, Structural Reforms and Other Provisions". Along with an amendment passed in the following month, June 2016, the legislation introduced ground-breaking changes in Greece’s previously state-dominated electricity sector.
The legislative changes aim to slash listed PPC’s share in the domestic electricity supply market; separae the grid operator from the PPC and partially privatizing the former, which is another memorandum obligation, and finally, to regulate a temporary capacity mechanism.