bids, concerning a total capacity of 668 MW, were
made in 2010.
“There is also another 300 MW of wind capacity
under construction, expected to come on-stream
during 2011 and accounting for investments of
€450 million.
“In other words, in 2011 we are expecting RES
and grid investments of €1.9 billion.”
In 2011, the Ministry’s leadership will put to con-
sultation a new framework for the electricity mar-
ket. The aim is to have wholesale costs reflected
on retail prices, in order to provide consumers
with reasonable prices. This is an essential
change in the market’s structure, which will
strengthen the national economy.
Moreover, seeking to liberalize the electricity mar-
ket, the Ministry’s leadership introduced certain
changes designed to abolish distortions in elec-
tricity bills. There are three targets:
•
To ensure major price reductions for socially
vulnerable groups — in January 2001, the gov-
ernment established the Social Price Schedule
for Households, with provides for discounts of
20% to 30%;
•
To offer substantial price reductions of 7% to
SMEs;
•
To avoid any price increases for middle-class
households, which are forced to alter their fam-
ily plans due to the current crisis.
The Ministry is assuming a series of initiatives in
the building sector, since the interventions made
in regard to power generation are not enough.
35% of carbon dioxide emissions in Greece come
from buildings. Greece consumes more energy
for household heating purposes than Finland. As
a result, energy costs account for an unreason-
ably large part of family budgets. This is due to
the fact that houses are old and incur substantial
energy losses, while there has been no appropri-
ate institutional framework up to now.
Taking this into account, the government has
launched the “Building the Future” program,
which will lead to energy modernization.
In the next 10-years, more than 3,100,000 energy
interventions will be made in buildings. The imple-
mentation of the program will lead to energy sav-
ings of €9 billion by 2020. These resources will
contribute to the national target of increasing
energy efficiency by 20%, and will become a driv-
er for the development and specialization of the
construction sector, as well as the building mate-
rials and energy products industries.
Further interventions are being made through the
provision of interest-free loans and subsidies to
financially weaker citizens, in order to finance the
necessary interventions in older homes.
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