Electricity market harmonisation with target model
(Article by Mira Todorovic Symeonides, published in the Energy & Natural Resources Newsletter of the ILO on March 27, 2017)
Introduction
After several years of preparation and analysis of different solutions for the reform of the electricity
wholesale market and its harmonisation with EU law, (particularly with regard to Regulation
714/2009 on conditions for access to the network for cross-border exchanges in electricity and
repealing Regulation 1228/2003, and Regulation 2015/1222 on establishing a guideline on capacity
allocation and congestion management), Greece has undertaken the necessary regulatory measure
and enacted Law 4425 on the Urgent Regulation of the Ministers of Finance, Environment and
Energy, Infrastructure, Transport and Networks, and Employment, Social Security and Social
Solidarity for the implementation of the agreement on fiscal goals and corrective reform and other
provisions, published in the Official Journal (A’185/30.09.2016). Before the law was enacted, studies
of the Greek electricity market were carried out while the Regulatory Energy Agency (RAE)
conducted public consultations on the implementation of the target model.
Structure
The new law introduces significant changes in the wholesale electricity market, which:
- functions as a day-ahead market with a balancing mechanism;
- is organised as a mandatory pool market; and
- recently developed a term products market with limited application.
The new law regulates the development of four electricity wholesale markets:
- the term products market;
- the day-ahead market;
- the intraday market; and
- the balancing market.
The markets will function in regard to transactions in the interconnected system, excluding the non-
interconnected islands. Development of these markets should pave the way for the establishment of
the Greek energy exchange. Under the law, term product agreements may be concluded bilaterally,
without participation in the organised market.
The law provides general regulation of the four markets, leaving the Ministry of Environment and
Energy to decide when to begin operation of each market, which may occur only after the RAE’s
opinion has been received and the relevant codes have been passed.
Download: 