Greek power second most expensive in EU
The Greek wholesale electricity market is Europe’s second most expensive, according to a report by the European Commission’s Directorate General for Energy on the last quarter of 2017.
The wholesale market determines the price at which power suppliers acquire electricity for their retail customers (households and enterprises) and its main parameters are the fuel mix, demand, availability of production units, interconnections with the grids of other markets, and dependence on imports that are cheaper at some times than others.
Wednesday’s report showed that markets with sufficient interconnections are more competitive than those that are relatively isolated, such as Greece’s and Italy’s, which are the EU’s most expensive.
In October-December 2017 the average wholesale rate in the Greek market amounted to 61 euros per megawatt/hour, just below Italy’s 62 euros/MWh and almost twice Denmark’s and Sweden’s 31 euros/MWh.
The Greek fuel mix showed some shift year-on-year, with electricity from wind-powered units rising to 12 percent from 9 percent in Q4 2016, while power from hydroelectrics fell to 4 percent from 7 percent.
