Enel SpA’s Enelco division, the Greek unit of Italy’s largest utility, signed a contract to build a gas-fired power station in Greece, the first of three planned by grid operator DESMIE.
Enelco, whose shareholders also include Russia’s OAO Gazprom and Greece’s Copelouzos Group, will build and operate a 447-megawatt plant, DESMIE said yesterday in an e-mailed statement. The facility is expected to begin commercial operations in 27 months. The power station will sell electricity to the wholesale market at partly guaranteed prices as Greece opens up its energy industry to boost competition and reduce its dependence on oil.
Enelco, 75 percent-owned by Enel, won the contract in February. Greek power demand has grown by 50 percent in the past decade, US Energy Department data show. Greece needs to increase capacity by a further 50 percent, or by 6,000 MW, to guarantee supply through 2015, according to the energy regulatory authority.
(KATHIMERINI, 16/07/2008)