In the same vein, the government will sustain its
efforts to promote RES, which already account for
more than 18% of the energy mix, approaching
the target that has been set for 2020.
In the past two years the percentage of lignite in
the national energy mix has been reduced from
45% to 30%. This is not to say that it will be
reduced to zero. Mr. Stathakis has pledged that
“we will continue to use lignite, as a cheap domes-
tically produced fuel, in the context of the European
targets. Also, the new PPC units (Ptolemaida V
and Meliti II) will not increase lignite-fired power
generation, but are designed to replace older pol-
luting PPC stations. Therefore, they will improve
the country’s energy footprint.”
Gradual transition to a new
electricity model
The transition of the electricity market to the
Target Model, which provides for the energy inter-
connection of EU member states and the creation
of new markets, is the government’s second step.
Communicating the political meaning of the
changes promoted by the government, Mr.
Stathakis has publicly stated that: “We are going
through a period when the key feature of the
domestic energy market is its negative balance.
In these circumstances, our first priority is to safe-
guard the public interest in the domestic electrici-
ty market. The transition to the Energy Union will
be realised in an orderly fashion, ensuring, first
and foremost, the security of the national system
for the generation, transmission and distribution
of power. No violent solutions will be tolerated,”
says the Environment and Energy Minister, who
also sees that there is scope for investment: “In
such a stable and secure environment, there is
room for the development of ambitious invest-
ment plans. I believe that international develop-
ments have made all players clearly see that the
era of reliance on a production model that
focused on heavy, polluting units, is finally over.
Emphasis has to be given on research and the
development of alternative energy sources.”
Thus, the Greek energy market is in a transition-
al stage. As of January 1, 2018, Greece will adopt
the new institutional framework promoted by the
European Commission for the operation of the
energy sector (Target Model).
The government is also committed to bring the
share of the Public Power Corporation (PPC) in
the retail market down to 50% by the year 2020.
This transition obviously involves a multitude of
instruments, one of them being the lignite and
hydroelectric generation auctions (ΝΟΜΕ). PPC’s
share in the retail market has already been
reduced to 87%, and the leadership of the
participation to the relevant initiative of the
European Commission that is already underway.”
The government’s widened agenda will comprise,
along with the “Saving at Home” programme, a
multitude of schemes, including the improvement
of the energy efficiency of public buildings.
The Ministry will work together with the European
Commission, for the preparation of an ambitious
plan for the Greek islands, which will lead to the
adoption of a new energy model, through the com-
pletion of interconnection grids and the installation
of autonomous environment-friendly systems. In
fact, the European Commission is promoting the
“Energy Islands” initiative, which will be launched
during Malta’s presidency of the EU council, with
the first forum being held in Crete before this
summer.
Trade with Greece
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