Cheaper power through auctions

By Chryssa Liaggou

High- and medium-voltage power consumers in Greece will soon be able to enjoy lower electricity rates resulting from the obligatory auction of some 20 to 30 percent of the Public Power Corporation’s thermal and hydroelectric output to independent suppliers, according to the plan to open up the retail power market that the Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE) put up on Wednesday for public consultation until May 30.

The auctions are a part of the regulatory interventions for the market’s liberalization, to be implemented by October, before the bundling and sale of part of the PPC output and client base, known as Small PPC.

The RAE plan is based on the NOME model that has applied in France since 2010 and which allows anyone with a license to supply electricity to be able to acquire packages of lignite- and hydroelectric-generated power at a predetermined rate to sell to clients.