New giant Greek gas-fired plant begins commissioning

The new 811MW Greek gas-fired power plant in Megalopolis began commercial operations ahead of its initial schedule, sending bearish ripples onto the country’s electricity pool and forward market.

The power plant appeared on day-ahead scheduling information from market operator LAGIE for the first time on Sunday. Since then, its output has varied between zero and 264MW, well below its total capacity.

Owned by the Greek incumbent the Public Power Corporation (PPC), the power plant has two gas-fired units. The installation began testing on the 5 January, after a very short delay from an initial end-of-2014 deadline.

PPC told ICIS earlier this year that the generator was scheduled to enter its commissioning phase at the end of June (see EDEM 16 January 2014).

Until this week, traders had said any impact on prices following the plant’s output during the testing period had been difficult to pinpoint since the two units were not appearing in day-ahead scheduling.

Despite its maximum generation at 264MW, some impact has now been perceived in Greek pool prices, known as the system marginal price (SMP). With Greek hourly demand averaged at around 5GWh, the plant was covering around 5% of consumption.

While the impact on the SMP varies depending on wider fundamentals, one trader estimated the additional power from Megalopolis had depressed the SMP on average by €2.00/MWh.

For Tuesday’s delivery the SMP settled at €45.01/MWh, well below the equivalent last week of €51.08/MWh.

The units’ operation has also changed the supply/demand balance for the front month. The outlook now is set to see some bearish pressure.

Megalopolis is a key driver for May, a trader said.

The plant’s effect “for May will depend a lot on whether PPC removes any of its lignite units in order to make room for Megalopolis or not,”the source added.

The plant grabbed the market’s attention in January, when it was revealed the power grid may not be able to support its full 811MW capacity amid risks of system overload.

The same Greek region also hosts two lignite-fired units as well as some wind farms. Sophie Udubasceanu and Ellie Chambers