Greece’s plan to double electricity production in coal-fired thermal power plants in 2022 was not successfully implemented, and the minimal increase in coal-based production did not have the expected effect of reducing the price of electricity in the country.
The situation should improve in 2023, after the commissioning of the Ptolemaida V coal-fired unit, with a capacity of 660 MW. The unit went into trial operation in December and is expected to begin commercial operations in late January or early February.
At the same time, the operation of the coal-fired thermal power plant, Ptolemaida V, is expected to be extended until 2028, instead of 2025 as previously planned in accordance with the plan for the gradual phase-out of coal. Transmission system operator ADMIE believes that it is necessary for the power plant to be in operation by 2028, and from 2031 the fuel conversion to natural gas should be carried out.
According to ADMIE data, in the first eleven months of 2022, lignite-based electricity production increased by only 2.2% compared to the same period in 2021. In the period January-November 2022, PPC units produced a total of 4,979 GWh of electricity , compared to 4,869 GWh in the same period in 2021.
The government’s goal in Athens, announced in April, was to double coal-fired power generation from 5 GWh to 10 GWh.
