Observations on the proposed Greek capacity mechanism

ClientEarth challenges the proposed Greek capacity mechanism (CM), asserting that the Greek authorities have failed to implement necessary market reforms and have provided a flawed generation adequacy assessment. The document argues that the CM's design discriminates against demand side response (DSR) and renewable energy in favor of lignite-fired plants, potentially using a 'grandfathering' clause to bypass EU emission standards. ClientEarth calls for a formal State aid investigation to ensure the scheme does not provide unjustified subsidies to fossil fuel incumbents.

• The Greek authorities have delayed the implementation of 'Target Model' market reforms, including day-ahead, intraday, energy financial, and balancing markets, which were originally scheduled to go live on 1 January 2018 and then 1 April 2019.
• The 2017 generation adequacy assessment is described as flawed and pessimistic, having been designed before a reliability standard (target LOLE) was established.
• The proposed capacity mechanism's contract lengths create a technological bias, effectively restricting long-term agreements to fossil fuel plants while excluding demand side response (DSR) operators.
• Greece has spent approximately €15 billion subsidising fossil fuel electricity generation over the last 10 years, while roughly 30% of the population cannot sufficiently heat their homes.

APA

ClientEarth (2019). Observations on the proposed Greek capacity mechanism. https://www.clientearth.org/media/n0vfpk0o/observations-on-the-proposed-greek-capacity-mechanism-coll-en.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. Observations on the proposed Greek capacity mechanism. 2019. https://www.clientearth.org/media/n0vfpk0o/observations-on-the-proposed-greek-capacity-mechanism-coll-en.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=ClientEarth |title=Observations on the proposed Greek capacity mechanism |date=10 May 2019 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/n0vfpk0o/observations-on-the-proposed-greek-capacity-mechanism-coll-en.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{clientearth2019observations, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{Observations on the proposed Greek capacity mechanism}}, publisher = {ClientEarth}, year = {2019}, month = may, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/n0vfpk0o/observations-on-the-proposed-greek-capacity-mechanism-coll-en.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }