For the Minister of Environment and Energy, Mr. Theodoros Skylakakis, there is no more free time. Generally it runs and does not arrive. Electricity, water, cables, interconnections, terrestrial and underwater, batteries, wind turbines, photovoltaics, forests, waste, climate phenomena and how many more need manipulations and quick decisions, in order to avoid many individual crises and control others, in their birth before they take uncontrollable dimensions and shake any trust of the citizens towards the state.
It is the scope and weight of the responsibilities that complicate the task, but also the complexity and commitments, mainly European, that multiply the demands of management, as is now the case with the evolving electricity and water crises.
High demand
This summer was hellish for Mr. Skylakakis. Demand for electricity soared due to the widespread use of air conditioners due to the prolonged heat wave and increased tourist traffic. At the same time, similar conditions also prevailed in the wider Balkans, which is not sufficiently interconnected with the central European electricity distribution networks related to Germany, with the result that electricity prices literally went out of control and consumers were faced with a crisis almost identical to the one that manifested itself in the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The situation worsened when the Russians, reacting to the Ukrainian counteroffensive in Kursk province, began relentlessly shelling the remaining Ukrainian power plants. The once electricity exporter Ukraine became a heavy importer again and the entire related and imperfectly interconnected southern European electricity grid surrendered to the extreme overvaluation signals emitted by the European electricity target model stock market scheme.
Electricity prices have soared in the idiosyncratic Ukrainian and Balkan electricity pool, dragging down the Greek market as well, even though the latter has increased its electrical self-sufficiency with massive investments in Renewable Energy Sources. Consumers were outraged by the already unbearable monthly bills and the government found itself in an extremely difficult position as a result of which in August it sought a new scheme to subsidize electricity bills.
Gaps and deficits
Mr. Skylakakis recognizes both the gaps in the electrical interconnection with the Central European network and the deficits in welfare and protection of consumers from the extreme manifestations of the European stock market target model, although he does not hide that there is not much room for substantial intervention. It is typical that the European limit on unregulated electricity prices is 10,000 euros per megawatt hour, and Ukraine has recently arrived at paying 6,000 euros per megawatt hour.
The Minister of Environment and Energy, however, believes that the mistake lies not so much in the absence of reasonable maximum prices as in the wrong direction of the signals of the stock exchange target model. According to him, the signals of extreme conditions should be addressed to the intermediary networks and not directed directly to the power producers as signals of an increase in electricity prices. That is why, as he explains, Greece is demanding from Europe a fixed system of taxation of electricity generation surplus profits – sky-rocketing as they describe them – and their redistribution, through an also fixed system of subsidies, to the affected household consumers and businesses.
He is awaiting the European response to the relevant letter-request from the Prime Minister, hoping for a positive response, as soon as the new European Commission is formed and the new commissioners take their positions.
“Continuous Fall”
At present, however, he insists that electricity prices are plummeting, and he insists they will soon fall sharply. To confirm his estimates, he cites the two-year contracts that PPC signs with farmers, which provide for fixed prices of 9 cents per kilowatt-hour for two years. He estimates that prices will continue to fall due to the entry of more and more RES into the system. In addition, he believes that the progress made in the field of energy storage will multiply the possibilities of the electricity generation system through RES. That is why it has recently liberalized the relevant procedures for the supply and installation of modern batteries, the supply of which is expanding and their prices have fallen significantly.
In fact, because, as he says, the production of RES has been unbalanced in favor of photovoltaics, he will soon favor the production through wind turbines in order to balance the supply of electricity during the 24 hours. In general, he is optimistic despite the many doubts that almost dominate the public debate, based on the knowledge that they will soon “enter” the electricity generation system through the 3.5 gigawatt RES.
The water crisis
But if the electricity crisis is under control according to Mr. Skylakakis, the water crisis is ahead. The threat of water scarcity is real and threatening. If the phenomenon of low rainfall continues for four consecutive years, then water scarcity will become threatening, particularly in Athens, the Peloponnese, the Cyclades and Crete. For this reason, the government hastened to take measures and provisions in order to control this specific threat. Key to dealing with water scarcity is the strengthening of corporate structures that manage water.
Mr. Skylakakis firmly believes that in order to deal with the possible upcoming water crisis, the country’s two largest water companies, namely EYDAP and EYATH, should develop and expand their fields of activity. As well as the larger local DEWAs of the region should absorb the smaller ones in order to acquire the critical size and the ability to make the required investments.
In this context, EYDAP will undertake water management throughout Attica, Corinth, Boeotia and the Cyclades, while it will also provide consultancy services in Crete. EYATH, the corresponding large company of Thessaloniki, will take over the water supply of the wider zone of the co-capital, including Halkidiki.
The plan also envisages mergers of the smaller municipal water companies, the DEYAs, in the county or district headquarters, after they are financially sound. For this purpose, they will be endowed with funds of 350 million euros in order to cover their debts and for the now merged companies to start from a clean base on their new course.
Desalination
Especially for Attica, a number of projects are planned that will strengthen Mornos with water, as they will connect it to local rivers and to the lake of Kremasta, which is located at a higher altitude, which allows the channeling of critical amounts of water with simple hydraulic works. However, since the distances are long, it will take almost four years for the necessary pipelines, the possibility of needing the construction of large desalination units in Attica is also being evaluated, in order to ensure the water supply of the capital.
The truth is, of course, that the desalination units are power-hungry and will require their reinforcement with sideline investments in RES and in particular wind turbines, which fall short of photovoltaics. In general, the case of water emerges as one of the most critical and its assurance will require a new round of investments both in the field of collection and in that of limiting losses through the old networks. The existing aging network records losses of 23% for the distribution process of…
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