A new ministerial decision promoting energy self-consumption in Greece (net billing) has been signed by Theodoros Skylakakis, the Minister of Environment and Energy. The scheme allows all citizens and businesses to produce and consume their energy, either individually or collectively.
Under this new self-consumption scheme, the Ministry of Environment and Energy enables all energy consumers nationwide, across all voltage levels of the electrical system, to simultaneously offset the energy they consume in their facilities with the energy produced by one or more Renewable Energy Sources (RES) stations.
Consumers are also entitled to compensation for any excess energy produced, based on market prices.
The RES stations may be owned by the consumer or a third party. They can be installed either at the same location as the consumption facility (net billing) or elsewhere on the grid (virtual net billing). If a third party owns the station, they can guarantee a fixed selling price for the energy.
This new flexibility allows energy companies to install RES systems, with or without storage, to offset consumer usage, thereby further liberalizing the retail energy market.
Net Billing: Benefits for Energy Consumers
Energy consumers will now play a more active role in market developments by leveraging cheaper energy from RES and avoiding the risk of rising energy prices on their bills.
For residential self-consumers with installations up to 10.8 kW, any benefit from excess energy can be applied as a discount on their electricity bill from their provider.
For businesses and larger consumers with systems over 10.8 kW, revenues from surplus energy sold on the market will be directly credited to their bank accounts.
Additionally, apartment building owners will have the opportunity to install photovoltaic systems either on the roof of the building or elsewhere.
The transition from the previous net metering scheme to the new net billing program will involve simplified procedures and straightforward notifications to the grid operator.
Distortions from the previous self-consumption scheme have been minimized by measures such as changing the settlement period for netted quantities from three years to one year.
Furthermore, the new energy self-consumption in Greece (net billing) scheme aligns energy production with consumption, reflecting the actual cost of netted energy without creating market deficits.
