Greece is moving to tighten oversight and reshape the compensation framework for renewable energy projects connected to private medium-voltage networks, under a draft law introduced by the Ministry of Environment and Energy and currently under public consultation. The proposed legislation aims to strengthen monitoring of electricity metering and to treat privately connected renewable energy networks as unified energy portfolios rather than as individual projects operating independently. The changes primarily affect renewable energy plants connected through private medium-voltage infrastructure, a model that has become increasingly common in the country’s rapidly growing solar and wind sectors.
Under the new framework, renewable energy producers connected to a private medium-voltage network will receive compensation from the country’s renewable energy payment authority only if metering data for all plants connected to that network are submitted collectively by the network’s representative to the relevant system operators. In practice, this means that if data are not properly submitted for all projects within the network, compensation payments could be delayed or suspended for the entire group, increasing compliance pressure on network operators and project owners. The draft law also introduces a structural change requiring that all renewable energy plants connected to the same private medium-voltage network be represented by the same aggregation representative and belong to the same energy portfolio. The provision is expected to encourage the consolidation of projects under single investors or energy groups, potentially accelerating market concentration in parts of the renewable energy sector.
In a separate provision, the legislation also introduces retroactive compensation for renewable energy producers whose projects were delayed from entering the electricity market due to the responsibility of grid or system operators. The regulation covers the period between a project’s physical connection to the grid and its official participation in the electricity market, a transitional phase during which some projects have historically faced administrative or technical delays outside the control of developers.
Under the proposed rules, the period between grid connection activation and full market participation may not exceed 15 days for projects connected to medium-, high-, and extra-high-voltage networks. Producers will be compensated for electricity generated during that period through the renewable energy support mechanism based on the applicable reference market price.
The legislation also explicitly provides for retroactive compensation in past cases where the national energy regulator had already determined that delays were caused by grid operators rather than project owners. In those cases, renewable energy producers will be compensated for electricity generated during the delay period. The draft law also предусматри fines on network operators when delays are attributed to them, with the proceeds directed to the renewable energy support account.
