Greece has adequate supplies of natural gas for winter, official says
Greece is in a better position ahead of the coming winter than it was last year, after a national threat assessment report did not indicate any significant shortages of natural gas supplies, Deputy Energy Minister Alexandra Sdoukou said on Thursday.
Speaking at the Energy Security Conference in Warsaw, Sdoukou said that the assessment was based on a threat evaluation by the Regulatory Authority for Industrial Waste, Energy and Waters, which in turn was based on simulation projections.
In addition, the new lignite unit in Ptolemaida V (660 MW) is in operation this year, while the commercial operation of the new floating liquified natural gas station in Alexandroupoli, northern Greece, will soon be able to guarantee reserves both for the Greek market and for the Balkan market.
The conference focused on the European Union’s state of preparation for the coming winter in terms of energy supply and demand, infrastructure resilience, emergency mechanisms and strategies to manage threats, while other issues like an energy glut and energy diversification in Southeastern Europe were also discussed.
Sdoukou said that the demand for natural gas between August and March 2023 dropped by 31% compared to the same period in 2022, and by 18.2% compared to the average of the last five years. Greece also reduced its dependence on Russian natural gas from 40% to 20%, she added. [AMNA]
