In the first quarter of 2026, net exports (3.4 TWh) exceeded total exports for 2025 (3 TWh), thanks to high generation from renewables (5.9 TWh) and large hydro (2.5 TWh). However, gas and lignite saw an increase in March compared to February (+19.9% and +12.9%, respectively), resulting in higher average price on the wholesale market (€95/MWh, +21.3%). RES curtailments for the quarter totaled 410 GWh, double last year’s figure, while hours with zero or negative prices reached 240 (11% of the total hours for the quarter).
This analysis concerns electricity production across the entire territory of Greece and is based on the latest available monthly data from the Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO) for the interconnected grid (March 2026) and from the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator (HEDNO) for the non-interconnected islands (December 2025). In addition, we use data from HEDNO for low and medium voltage, as well as for the installed capacity of self-production systems (September 2025). Data from the Renewable Energy Special Account bulletin of the Renewable Energy Sources & Guarantees of Origin Operator (DAPEEP) (December 2025) are used to calculate more accurately CHP production at low and medium voltage, as well as for the PV utilization factors needed to estimate self-production. Finally, for the wholesale electricity market we use price data of the Day-Ahead Market from ENTSO-E. You can read in more detail about our methodology here.
March
In March 2026, RES ranked first in electricity production for the third consecutive month, with 2,602 GWh, up 17.4% from February and 12.7% from March of last year, while it was the highest-ever RES generation for March.
Fossil gas ranked second with 1,944 GWh, up 19.9% from February and 28.7% from March 2025. It was also the highest production for the month of March in the last four years and the second highest on record after March 2022.
Large hydro plants ranked third, recording another month of very high electricity production at 705 GWh. Compared to the previous month, which saw a record high, large hydro plants were down by 35%; however, compared to March of last year, this year’s electricity generation was nearly four times higher (+269%).
Lignite and oil ranked second and third in electricity production, with 265 GWh and 240 GWh, respectively. Lignite recorded a 12.9% increase compared to February and a 49.3% increase compared to March 2025, reaching levels close to those of March 2024 (286 GWh). Electricity production from oil in non-interconnected islands is estimated to have decreased by 10.7% compared to February but increased by 17.3% compared to March of last year.
Total domestic demand was 4,670 GWh, up 7.7% from the previous month, while total electricity production reached 5,756 GWh, marking a 6% increase compared to February.
In the interconnection balance, the country continued its export trend with net exports of 1,086 GWh, very close to previous month’s levels (-0.6%), while compared to the same month last year, they were thirty times higher (30x).
The average price on the wholesale electricity market (day-ahead market) in March rose to €95/MWh (+21.3% from February), due to increased electricity production from fossil gas and lignite.
Historical comparison – first three months of the year
When comparing the first three months of 2026 with previous years, RES ranked first with a record electricity production of 7,365 GWh.
Fossil gas ranked second for the first quarter of the year with 5,974 GWh, trailing RES by more than 1 TWh. Despite a decline compared to last year (-5.5%), gas had the second-highest electricity production for the quarter following its all-time high in 2025.
In third place were large hydro plants with 2,526 GWh and a record electricity production for this period of the year.
Lignite followed with 873 GWh, marking the lowest electricity generation for the quarter in at least the last decade. Oil in non-interconnected islands, at 773 GWh for the quarter, ranked last, at comparable levels to lignite.
Domestic demand for the quarter increased by 2.6% to 14,074 GWh, while total electricity production reached 17,516 GWh (+20.2% compared to 2025).
As a result, the country set a record for net exports of 3,442 GWh, already surpassing the total net exports of 2025 (3,010 GWh) within just three months.
Changes in the shares of energy sources in demand coverage
Comparing the first quarter of 2026 with the first quarter of 2025, it is evident that the decline in gas and lignite (351 GWh or -5.5% and 255 GWh or -22.6%, respectively), as well as the increase in domestic demand (+354 GWh or +2.6%), totaled 960 GWh, a quantity that was more than offset by the increase in RES (+1,591 GWh or 27.6%). Thus, a significant portion of the increase in RES, as well as the even greater increase in production from large hydro plants (+1,865 GWh or 282%), were primarily channeled into exports, which recorded a historic increase of 2,584 GWh (or 301%) compared to the same period in 2025.
As for renewables, the increase during this period of the year appears to be driven by wind and solar. Indicative of this upward trend, wind power generation for high voltage plants reached 3,634 GWh (+37.2% compared to 2025), while solar power generation at high voltage reached 949 GWh (+31.4% compared to 2025).
The corresponding year-on-year percentage changes for the first three months of 2026, compared to 2025, were:
Lignite: -22.6%
Fossil gas: -5.5%
Oil: +12.5%
Renewables: +27.6%
Large hydro: +282%
Net exports: +301.1%
Demand: +2.6%
Comparison of clean energy with fossil fuels
In the first three months of 2026, clean energy sources (wind, solar, hydroelectric, biomass, self-production) reached a record high with a total production of 9,891 GWh, surpassing fossil fuels (natural gas, lignite, oil), which produced 7,619 GWh.
Compared to the same period in 2025, clean energy sources saw a 53.7% increase, while fossil fuels, conversely, decreased by 6.4%. Thus, clean energy reversed the 2025 trend for the first quarter of the year, taking the lead in meeting demand with a 70.3% share, and in electricity generation with a 56.5% share.
Energy curtailment from RES
Based on the combination of forecasts shown in the ISP2 and ISP3 solutions of the consolidated planning process of the IPTO, RES curtailments in March were 195.8 GWh (or 7% of RES generation), down 6% compared to February and 15% less than curtailments in March 2025. However, cumulatively for the first quarter, total curtailments are estimated at 410 GWh (5.3% of total RES generation), nearly double the curtailments of the first quarter of 2025 (233.7 GWh).
The day with the highest curtailments was Sunday, March 1, 2026, with curtailments of 23 GWh (or 11.7% of the month’s total curtailments). Most curtailments in March occurred between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.
As for hours with near-zero or negative prices on the wholesale electricity market, March 2026 saw 118.8 hours (approximately 16% of the total hours for the month), 5 hours more than the previous month and 106 hours more than March 2025. In total, during the first quarter of 2026, there were 239.5 hours with zero or negative prices, while during the same period in 2025, this occurred for only 13 hours.
