March 29, 2024

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Energy: The Energy Saving Battle Begins

Energy: The Energy Saving Battle Begins

Priority is given to reducing demand electricity For households and small businesses, in order for the state to achieve a mandatory 5% reduction in consumption during peak hours, as stipulated in EU draft regulation Which will be discussed in the Council of Energy Ministers tomorrow.

The obligatory target, even if it is adjusted to 3% – which is being negotiated by many EU countries, including Greece – is assessed by the relevant bodies as too great a challenge for our country, and this is due to the low voltage network, i.e. from households Small businesses, which are also the largest consumer with 65% of total demand, do not have smart meters.

However, in order not to dump all the burden on the energy-intensive industry and medium-voltage companies with the possibility of measuring consumption remotely, what is considered is the inclusion of the reduction rate savings at the national level from the low-voltage network, which will be calculated by DEDDIE for each substation. This was discussed at the meeting held yesterday headed by the Minister of Environment and Energy Costas Screkas and share it RAEFrom human so is DidiIn it, all the possibilities offered by the Greek system for achieving the goal of commitment were examined.

The prevailing assessment among the competent authorities is that there is scope to reduce household consumption, especially in Attica and southern Greece, where winters are usually mild, and that savings incentives implemented from October (higher support premium) will contribute to this. direction.

Campaigns

In order to enhance its value to consumers savings Not only for economic reasons but also for security of supply, an issue of even greater concern after the geopolitical tension caused by explosions in the pipeline system Nord Steam 1 and 2dynamic campaigns expected from Ministry of Environment and Energy With television and radio advertising, but also separate campaigns by officials and RAE in cooperation with consumer organizations. Moreover, households and small businesses are starting to switch off, cutting August demand for the third month in a row by 18.6% compared to the same month last year.

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Industries

Peak hours during which consumption should be reduced – 6-10 in the evening and 9-10 in the morning have been completed.

intense energy sharing industry It is also assessed as necessary to achieve the objective of mandatory demand reduction during peak hours, with the relevant authorities trying to reduce it, including the overall percentage of savings from the LV network.

The Commission’s fourth draft in a row gives flexibility to member states to set peak times according to the characteristics of their national system and also to reduce the mandatory hours per day from the original four hours, but not the quantities. That is, a country can reduce its consumption by only two hours a day, but not less than 5% or the percentage that will eventually be “restricted” under the obligation.

In the discussion at yesterday’s meeting, the peak hours were completed which are 6-10 PM and 9-10 AM. It was found in Hellas There are no major industrial loads to limit the two-hour consumption cut, so three hours will form the basis of the plan. Industry participation in Phase I will be achieved on a voluntary basis and through a fee-based auction mechanism conducted by ADMIE. Energy-intensive industries will be required to determine what loads they can reduce over the course of the month and for what hours. In order to prevent prices at auctions from escaping, and raising costs too much, the imposition of a cap is being discussed.

The relevant bodies appear to exclude voluntary participation by industry in the context of the agreements that ADMIE will seek through the ongoing discussions. However, even with the industry’s good intentions, the exercise remains complicated and this is because some, such as steel mills, do not work during the evening rush hours, while others, such as aluminum in Greece, cannot for technical reasons interrupt their production for consecutive hours. That is why the relevant authorities study in detail the consumer profile of each industry before making final decisions.

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Request an exception

Meanwhile, the industry is looking for a way out of the mandatory 15% “cut-off” in natural gas demand, with nearly 100 companies already submitting an exemption request to RAE, within the scope of the possibility left by the EU decision. The deadline for filing exemptions is October 10, and the general feeling is that the process will take on the contours of an industrial civil war. But what is striking is the decrease in natural gas consumption in Greece by 40% in September compared to last year, and the limitation of Russian gas imports to 20%, which alarmed an article published by the German newspaper Handelsblatt entitled “Greece shows how it provides natural gas.”

work electronically

Finally, on the main issue of the security of energy supply in view of winter and the possibility of a complete interruption of Russian gas flows, the relevant authorities are reported to be recruiting work electronically As a load separation tool. measure, like Move to “K” Responsible factors, can be applied either for some critical hours between 1 and 4 pm or for a week if the system is too stressed, to prevent cuts to domestic consumers. The European Union is also studying a measure of teleworking for one day per week at the European level. to reduce demand.

Energy consumers “Red” and “Green”

Open to putting a “curb” on the movement of defaulters from provider to provider, but also remaining indefinitely for strategic defaulters in the Catholic service, the Minister of Environment and Energy appeared at a meeting yesterday with service provider representatives.

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In the discussion that developed, the minister made it clear, according to representatives of supply companies, that he understood the problem caused by the accumulation of unpaid debts from consumers who switch providers leaving “fessia” for the former, and gave directions for the establishment of a committee of the RAE which will study and make specific proposals in October .

The basis for the proposals will be the proposal submitted by RAE from the spring of 2021, which was based on three consultations with the market and is the product of mutual concessions.

RAE proposes to create a “debt reporting” system that DEDDIE has to observe and on the orders of electricity suppliers, customers will be marked with a “red” indicator if they have debts, and by “green” those who proceed to repay or settle their overdue debts.

In the event that someone has two outstanding invoices, the supplier has the right to request deactivation of the counter, the request will be registered in the DEDDIE system and his right to change the provider will be automatically suspended. Finally, the RAE received an order from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to submit a proposal to limit the maximum length of stay in Catholic service.

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