Skylakakis leads Balkan initiative on power rates

Greece’s energy minister said on Monday the unified European Union electricity market was not working for Southeastern Europe, and that it would work with Romania and Bulgaria toward a permanent solution to soaring power prices in the region.

Greece has been getting nearly half of its energy from solar and wind parks at low prices, but like other nations in Southern Europe it has seen a periodic surge in prices during the warm summer months when demand for air conditioning is high and power supply from other interconnected countries is short. \

“Power links are not enough to carry power from the Central European market to the Southeastern one. This leads to extreme prices on some days, something that cannot be accepted,” Energy Minister Thodoros Skylakakis told a radio station on Monday.

He said the target model for a unified EU electricity market was not working. The Greek prime minister is expected to send a letter to the European Commission on the issue this week.

In a statement the Energy Ministry said a joint initiative is being taken by the Greek, Bulgarian and Romanian energy ministers to create “a permanent intervention mechanism whenever extreme prices are recorded, due to the cutoff of Southeastern Europe from the rest of the European energy market.”