Greece’s average wholesale electricity price rose to €247.82 per megawatt-hour in Monday’s day-ahead auction, its highest level since 2023, as gas prices surged across Europe.
The price applies to power delivered on Tuesday 20 October, according to day-ahead market data. Hourly prices peaked at €406.48/MWh in the evening, up from a daily average of €232.43/MWh a day earlier.
The jump points to an expensive winter for households and businesses, Greek press reports said. Gas still sets the price paid to producers for many hours of the day.
Since an upward trend began in July, the wholesale electricity price has climbed by 125.39 per cent, the reports said. It has broken consecutive records since September. Across Europe, wholesale prices are returning to levels last seen at the peak of the 2022–2023 energy crisis.
Gas drives the wholesale electricity price
Natural gas still makes up as much as 40 per cent of Greece’s generation mix, despite the country’s high share of renewable energy. At the Dutch TTF hub, gas prices are flirting with €90/MWh.
For Tuesday, renewables covered 42.84 per cent of the mix and gas supplied 38.91 per cent, market figures showed. In contrast, on days of strong renewable output, average prices fall far lower.
Depending on a plant’s efficiency, it takes two to three megawatt-hours of gas to produce one megawatt-hour of power. So if the gas rally continues, the wholesale electricity price risks staying above €240/MWh over the winter, the reports said. Households would struggle to afford that level without subsidies.
Greek City Times reported on 19 October that heating oil orders remain low despite a price cut. Earlier, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis delivered a hard winter warning in Larissa.
Eurogroup talks on 9 November
The government is expected to renew its request for more fiscal flexibility at the Eurogroup on 9 November. It wants room for targeted support measures.
The outcome will largely decide how much more help Athens can offer if the wholesale electricity price stays high, the reports said.
By comparison, Greece ranked among Europe’s cheaper power markets in August, before the latest rise in gas prices took hold.
Source: eKathimerini
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