Greece’s new 1.5 bln euro electricity plant in Western Macedonia to start operating this spring

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited on the morning of Tuesday, February 14, 2023, the new PPC “Ptolemaida 5” power station, as part of his two-day tour of the Region of Western Macedonia.

“It is a very important, a very important project for the country’s energy security, for PPC, a project with significant domestic added value,” the Prime Minister emphasized during his visit.

The prime minister stated that it will be for a modern and efficient unit that creates 800 new jobs in the region and is combined with the strategy of the green transition which remains a non-negotiable priority as the largest photovoltaic park in the country and the Balkans is under construction by PPC in the region power of 550 MW. As he underlined “But at the same time we must not forget the importance we attach to the strategic adequacy of the country”.

The new unit

The unit is expected to be commissioned in the Spring and is the largest public project to be completed in the last decade as 1.5 billion euros were invested. Ptolemaida 5, a strategic reserve unit, will participate during peak demand hours.

The new plant has a capacity of 660 MW and is in trial operation from the end of 2022. In the operation of the plant, all the latest technologies have been introduced and it will be able to produce 43% more energy with 7% less fuel.

It seems that PPC will keep it in operation as long as natural gas prices are at high levels. The unit will then remain in strategic reserve beyond 2028, which has been set as a milestone for the lignite to remain in the system, removing the possibility of it being converted into a natural gas unit.

Peristeris: Let’s not abandon domestic sources of energy

For his part, the president and CEO of GEK TERNA Group George Peristeris noted that “Today is a day of pride for us, that you are all here to see the unit we built together with PPC”. As the powerful man of GEK TERNA underlined, “first of all I would like to thank all the employees, partners and all partner companies. They all responded in a difficult economic environment.

To thank the local community that embraced the project, our company and the workers. And of course we should also thank PPC with whom we had a very good cooperation. We did not regret when during the very difficult years of PPC we connected the viability of our company with the viability of PPC. Because really what we did is a very important project”.

Concluding his speech, he emphasized that “I would like to close by saying what we also said at the signing of the contract for the unit, for God’s sake we must not leave the domestic sources of energy. Especially those that have a large domestic added value. Lignite does have a larger environmental footprint than other energy sources, but with a gradual reduction of natural gas and an increase in Renewable Energy Sources, we can keep production in Greece and Greece can be an energy independent country, even an exporter.”

The head of PPC, Giorgos Stassis, explained that the energy crisis dictates that every available means be used with the aim of energy shielding the country. But he emphasized that Ptolemaida 5 assumes another role, that of energy stability, today and in the future of the strategic reserve. But what does this mean for the operation of the 5th brand new unit that will enter commercial operation in the spring?