Greek Minister of Energy Kostas Skrekas announced that three coal-fired thermal units operated by state-controlled Public Power Corporation (PPC) will continue to operate until the end of 2025.
The three units in question are: unit 1 at TPP Meliti and units 3 and 4 at TPP Agios Dimitrios, which were initially supposed to be shut down at the end of 2023. This will provide each of the units with about 30,000 hours of operation.
Minister Skrekas said that the short-term is for lignite to provide between 17 and 20 % of the country’s electricity needs during the winter. Currently, this contribution stands at about 10 %.
New coal-fired unit V at Ptolemaida power plant is expected to enter commercial operation in January 2023. The Government planned for the unit to switch to using natural gas at a later date, namely in 2025. However, it seems that the plan is scrapped, and the unit will continue using lignite at least until 2028, maybe even further.
