Greece’s Renewable Surge Strains Grid as Wholesale Price Falls to European Low

An exceptional burst of renewable output raised Greece’s green energy share to 78% of its electricity balance, creating a surplus that strained grid management and drove wholesale prices to the lowest level on the continent.

Strong winds powered the surge, pushing natural gas to just 13.2% of the energy mix while electricity imports shrank to a minimal 2.5%. Grid operator IPTO warned that peak hours the following day could see renewable generation exceed 12.7 GW against total demand of under 6 GW — a gap that would require urgent, large-scale curtailments to maintain system stability.

To preserve operational security, IPTO significantly reduced available cross-border export capacity. Available capacity toward Bulgaria was cut to 500 MW and toward Albania to 100 MW. The interconnector with North Macedonia was separately constrained to 350 MW due to emergency maintenance on the 400 kV Skopje–Urosevac line.

The abundance of low-cost green power gave Greece a clear price advantage. Wholesale electricity fell to €120 per MWh — the cheapest in Europe — compared with €200 in Germany, €216 in Italy, and €138 in neighbouring Bulgaria.

Source: Balkan Green Energy News