GREECE Law and Practice Contributed by: Evangelos (Evans) Courakis, Evangelos Mylonas Tsoumas, Sofia Andreanoudi, Vassiliki Xynou and Ioanna Marouso Argyriou, Koutalidis Law Firm
sectors, contributing to the decarbonisation goals and enhancing energy security. In parallel, Greece and Egypt have reaffirmed their commit- ment to the planned 3 GW undersea power cable with completion expected within five years. As of May 2025, construction had not yet started. 1.8 Unique Aspects of the Power Industry Greece’s power industry has seen significant developments, particularly in the rapid expan- sion of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power, driven mainly by the country’s favourable geographical conditions. At the same time, Greece is investing in interconnections with neighbouring countries, such as the EuroAsia Interconnector, which remains on EU’s list of projects of common interest, enhancing energy security. The effort to decarbonise is also cru- cial, with the gradual phase-out of lignite-fired power plants and the transition to natural gas and renewables set as a priority. However, due to the high penetration of RES during recent years, the issue of grid saturation came to the surface. Addressing this saturation involves – apart from grid development – the promotion of energy storage projects, such as pumped hydro storage and battery systems, to balance supply and demand. Greece is also exploring the potential of offshore wind farms, geothermal energy and its water resources for further development of sustain- able energy sources. Moreover, the adoption of smart grids and the modernisation of the regula- tory framework are viewed as the next steps for enhancing the system’s stability and efficiency. In addition, Greece’s leading energy utility PPC and IPTO have recently announced plans to develop large-scale green-energy-powered data
centres – starting with a 300 MW facility at Agi- os Dimitrios, potentially scalable to 1,000 MW – leveraging behind-the-meter renewables and existing grid infra, marking a significant new syn- thesis between energy and digital infrastructure. Lastly, Greece is also exploring the possibil- ity of modernising its framework for hydrogen. Despite challenges like economic constraints and regulatory hurdles, the energy industry in Greece is evolving dynamically, aligning with global trends toward sustainable development and energy transition. 2. Market Structure, Supply and Pricing 2.1 The Wholesale Electricity Market The adoption of the EU Target Model, as well as the new energy regulatory framework put into force under Commission Regulation (EU) 2015/1222 regarding market coupling within the EU, introduced material changes to the Greek wholesale electricity market structure. The key aspect of the domestic wholesale electricity market restructuring was the abolishment of the “mandatory pool” model, based on which the day-ahead market (DAM) was structured. According to this “mandatory pool” system, the electricity transactions performed by the partici- pants were exclusively related to the DAM. Phys- ical bilateral transactions between the partici- pants were not allowed, and the system marginal price (SMP) was the price at which the electric- ity market was cleared. More specifically, the SMP was determined through the combination of the price and quantity supply submitted by the electricity producers and the hourly electric- ity demand formed by the consumers daily. The model’s main drawback, which was its inability to achieve the coupling of the Greek day-ahead
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