Power market changes afoot
’Orange,’ or dynamic rates will allow consumers to manage their own usage better
The large penetration of renewable energy sources and the changes it has brought to Greece’s electricity system are bringing structural shifts in the relationship between consumers and electricity.
The adjustment of consumption to the new electricity production model, with its RES patchwork, is a necessary condition for maintaining grid stability and for managing cheap solar and wind energy to consumers’ benefit.
The lag in this adjustment in the absence of the right tools and education of consumers has today led to the practice of ditching RES power in midday. Shifting demand to these hours will limit green energy cuts for system stability and provide an opportunity for consumers to benefit from cheap renewable energy.
The Energy Ministry is about to intervene toward demand management and more active participation of consumers in the market. “We need to react to this new reality of ever-growing RES penetration, with demand response, storage and matching new supply with demand, to replace expensive power with the cheap energy we throw away. Otherwise, the system will experience major teething problems,” Minister Thodoros Skylakakis tells Kathimerini.
He hails the “dynamic tariffs” that will appear on the market from fall – assigned the color orange – which will allow consumers to charge the kilowatt-hour per day and in many different zones within 24 hours, even per quarter. However, they require the installation of smart meters. Today, 45% of grid electricity corresponds to medium-voltage businesses and low-voltage professionals, who have smart meters. With the installation of 360,000 meters by grid manager DEDDIE by year-end, the ministry expects orange tariffs to cover up to 60% of demand.
With the installation of low-voltage meters, residential consumers will gradually be able to use the orange rates too. By shifting energy-intensive device use to lunch hours, they will contribute to grid stability and enjoy low prices. Households will later participate in the market for a fee, as in mature European markets.
