Price de-escalation, declining demand and increasing share RES in the electricity generation structure were the key characteristics of the market electricity in March.

According to the monthly IENE Energy Analysis Bulletin, the average wholesale price current in March it fell for the third consecutive month to 122.76 EUR/MWh, when the highest price was recorded at 436.53 EUR/MWh in August 2022.

In March, electricity demand fell for the second month in a row. In particular, it fell from 4 TWh in January to 3.9 TWh in February and to 3.8 TWh in March.

Increasing renewable energy

On an annualized basis (March 2022 – March 2023), the share of renewable energy in the fuel power generation in Greece it increased by 6%, with their participation reaching 40% in March 2023, while the share of natural gas decreased by 21%, covering 26% of the mix. Lignite participated in the fuel balance with a share of 14%, and hydropower – only 2%, while 18% of demand in March was covered by imports.

LNG still dominates the supply structure natural gas countries. In particular, the share of LNG, which accounted for 68% last March of Greece’s total natural gas imports, is considered one of the highest in recent years, highlighting the important role that this fuel already plays and is expected to play in the coming years. within the framework of dependence on Russian natural gas.

On average, the price of natural gas at the Dutch TTF in March last year fluctuated between 40-50 euros/MWh, and on March 20, for the first time since July 2021, the price fell below 40 euros/MWh. Therefore, the weighted average imports The price of natural gas in March 2023 was 46.3 EUR/MWh, which is the third monthly decrease in a row.

It was set at EUR 122.76/MWh, while in August 2022 it was EUR 436.53/MWh.

According to official data released yesterday, demand for natural gas has been declining in the first quarter of the year. DESFA.

In particular, overall demand fell by 15.29% compared to the corresponding quarter last year, while the fall in demand in the domestic market was even greater – by 33.92%. The main gateway for natural gas in the country remains the Revitus LNG terminal, covering the largest portion (54.96%) of all gas imports.

Exports remained strong at around 5.68 TWh, more than doubling (120.05%) from the first quarter of 2022. Significantly decreased (56.71%) in the quarter, the import of Russian gas, which covered only 18.78%. all imports.

Consumption

In terms of natural gas consumer categories, electricity producers continue to record the highest consumption, meeting 56.09% of domestic demand with 6.95 TWh of the total consumed 12.39 TWh.

A slight increase of 1.93% compared to the first quarter of 2022 was recorded in natural gas consumption by industries and CNG filling stations directly connected to the transmission system, amounting to 0.74 TWh, corresponding to almost 5.97% of domestic demand.

Consumption from distribution networks (small businesses and households) during the first quarter of 2023 reached the level of 4.70 TWh, covering 37.94% of total demand.