Filenews 3 May 2022
By Dimitris Gatsios
At a time of energy turmoil and geostrategic upheavals due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Athens continues to add pieces to the puzzle of the big picture related to Greece's energy shielding. In this context, this morning comes to the fore another move with a double focus, pending, even the unveiling of the government's new national plan to deal with the significant increases in electricity and gas bills. And this move is none other than the construction of the floating Terminal of Liquefied Natural Gas of Alexandroupolis, the implementation of which:
-It will play a decisive role in the energy security of the country, the wider Balkan region and the whole of Southeastern Europe.
-It will be another step, as noted by government officials, in the transformation of Greece into an energy hub.
The Prime Minister of Greece arrives this morning in the capital of Evros, while a characteristic element of the importance of the implementation of the LNG Terminal in Alexandroupolis not only for our region, but also for the European Union is the fact that the "present" will be given by the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov and North Macedonia's Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski.
The floating LNG terminal, the completion of which is timed in 2023, will be the new energy gateway for Greece, the Balkans and Southeastern Europe.
-It will further enhance energy security and energy independence.
-It will offer the possibility of diversifying the sources and routes of supply of natural gas in the region.
-It will boost regional co-operation, as virtually all Balkan countries participate in the project.
"The Alexandroupolis floating terminal will help achieve the European Union's goal of gradually abolishing its dependence on Russian gas as soon as possible, as decided by the March European Council. Also, the project will offer new sources and routes for the supply of natural gas and will enhance the security of supply in Greece, Bulgaria and other countries of the region," commented mr. Michel's representative, a few hours before the arrival of the President of the European Council in our country.
The terminal of Alexandroupolis aims to create a fourth gate for the import of natural gas in our country, with a supply capacity of up to 700,000 cubic meters per hour or 6.1 billion cubic meters of natural gas on an annual basis. It is indicative that in our country the consumption is six billion cubic meters, in Bulgaria 3.5 billion cubic meters and in Romania eleven million cubic meters. At the same time, it will ensure new quantities of natural gas for the supply of the Greek and regional market of Southeastern Europe, contributing to the expansion of natural gas supply sources and routes, to the promotion of competition for the benefit of the final consumer, to the security of supply of Greece and the Balkan countries, but also to the improvement of the reliability and flexibility of the National Natural Gas System.
In the "battle" of every available resource
In parallel time and with an eye on the internal shocks from the consequences of the energy vice, the Maximos Mansion and the economic staff are determined to use every available resource to support consumers, without derailing the fiscal balance, and this is evident from the public statements of both the Prime Minister and top government officials. In this context, a longer-lasting strategy (for example) is proposed, which will "embrace" society horizontally, with internal government meetings intensifying, with the aim of bringing the announcements from the Prime Minister's side to the fore immediately.
The new support package is expected to include a cap on the wholesale price of electricity, but also a significant intervention in the readjustment clause. "With the intervention we will make, people will see much smaller bills than they see lately. There are continuous meetings in order to determine exactly the monetary and financial amount of the intervention. It will not be a little money, it will reach the limits of our budgetary possibilities. We all understand that society cannot stand it," Greek government spokesman Yiannis Economou said (Mega), with the timing of the prime minister's announcements now counting down.
Source: Capital.gr
