For the 4th consecutive month, renewables led the way in electricity production with 2,107 GWh, despite the high level of curtailments recorded in April (475 GWh). The first 7 batteries connected to the grid reduced RES curtailments by just 0.72% and gas-fired power generation by just 0.26%. High RES, combined with low levels of fossil gas and lignite (1,340 GWh and 197 GWh, respectively), led to a drop in the average wholesale price (89 €/MWh, -6.6%). However, over the 4-month period, fossil gas (7,329 GWh) was just 1.2% below last year’s record levels, while net exports reached a high of 3.6 TWh.
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 (April 2026) and from the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator (HEDNO) for the non-interconnected islands (April 2026). 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) (January 2026) 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.
April
In April 2026, RES remained the leading source of electricity production for the fourth consecutive month, with 2,107 GWh, despite a 17.3% decrease compared to March. Compared to April of last year, RES increased by 8.5%.
Fossil gas ranked second, continuing the downward trend that began at the start of the year. At 1,340 GWh, fossil gas production was down 31.2% compared to March, but up 22.8% compared to April of last year.
Large hydro plants ranked third with 336 GWh, dropping to almost half of March’s electricity generation. However, compared to April 2025, large hydroelectric plants were up by 73.9%.
Lignite followed with 197 GWh, marking a six-month low. However, compared to April 2025, lignite saw a 40.1% increase. In contrast, oil-fired generation for the non-interconnected islands has shown a significant decline since the beginning of the year, according to the latest data from HEDNO. Specifically, in April, oil-based electricity generation reached 140 GWh, down 8.9% from March and 44.4% from April of last year.
In April 2026, the first seven large-scale battery storage systems were put into trial operation; they absorbed a total of 3.5 GWh and fed 2.9 GWh back into the grid.
Total domestic demand this month was 3,947 GWh, down 12.9% from the previous month and 2.6% from last year. Total electricity generation reached 4,124 GWh, down 26.6% compared to the previous month.
In terms of the interconnection balance, the country remained a net exporter; however, due to maintenance work on the interconnections with Italy[1] and Albania[2], net exports decreased by 83.3% compared to the previous month, reaching 177 GWh. Last year, April was the only month of the year in which the country was a net importer (432.5 GWh) due to problems with the interconnection with Italy.
The average price on the wholesale electricity market (day-ahead market) in April fell to €89/MWh (-6.6% from March), thanks to a decrease in electricity generation from gas and lignite compared to the previous month, while RES remained at high levels.
Historical comparison – first four months of the year
When comparing the first four months of 2026 with previous years, RES ranked first with a record electricity generation of 9,342 GWh.
Fossil gas ranked second for the first four months of the year with 7,329 GWh, a 1.2% decrease compared to last year, while it was the second-highest electricity generation for this period after the 2025 record (7,416 GWh).
In third place were large hydro plants with 2,861 GWh, marking a record for electricity generation during this period of the year.
Lignite followed with 1,070 GWh, a historic low for the first four months of the year. In last place was oil with 553 GWh and a historic low for this period, which is primarily because of the Crete interconnection.
Domestic demand for the first four months of the year reached 17,565 GWh, representing a relative decrease of 1.2% compared to 2025. In contrast, total electricity generation reached 21,166 GWh, representing a 16.3% increase compared to 2025.
In terms of the interconnection balance, the country had record net exports of 3,594 GWh in total for the four-month period.
Changes in the shares of energy sources in demand coverage
Comparing the first four months of 2026 with the first four months of 2025, it is evident that the three fossil fuels (lignite, fossil gas, and oil) decreased by a total of 671 GWh. This decrease, combined with the increase in domestic demand, totaled 879 GWh, a quantity that was more than offset by the increase in RES (+1,627 GWh or +21.1%). Thus, a large portion of the increase in RES, as well as the even greater increase in large hydro power generated (+2,006 GWh or +234.8%), went toward electricity exports to neighboring countries. Net exports were nearly eightfold compared to the same period in 2025 (+3,169 GWh or +744%).
As for RES, the increase during this period of the year appears to be due to both wind and solar power. Indicative of this upward trend, wind power generation reached 4,412 GWh (+33% compared to 2025), while solar power generation reached 1,322 GWh (+29.2% compared to 2025).
The corresponding year-on-year percentage changes for the first four months of 2026, compared to 2025, were:
Lignite: -15.6%
Fossil gas: -1.2%
Oil: -41.1%
Renewables: +21.1%
Large hydro: +234.8%
Net exports: +744.4%
Demand: -1.2%
Comparison of clean energy with fossil fuels
In the first four months of 2026, clean energy sources (wind, solar, hydroelectric, biomass, self-production) reached a record high with a total production of 12,203 GWh, surpassing fossil fuels (natural gas, lignite, oil), by 3,251 GWh.
Compared to the same period in 2025, clean energy sources saw a 42.2% increase, while fossil fuels, conversely, decreased by 6.8%. Thus, clean energy reversed the 2025 trend for the first four months of the year, taking the lead in meeting demand with a 69.5% share, and in electricity generation with a 57.7% 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 April were 475 GWh (or 18.4% of RES generation), an increase of 142.5% compared to March and 32% compared to curtailments in April 2025. Cumulatively for the first four months, total curtailments are estimated at 884.8 GWh (8.7% of total RES production), nearly 2.5 times higher than curtailments in the first four months of 2025 (359 GWh).
The day with the highest curtailments was Sunday, April 5, 2026, with curtailments of 47.8 GWh (or 10% of the month’s total curtailments). Most curtailments in April occurred between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Energy storage
The first seven battery storage units began trial operations during the first ten days of April. Based on the peak loads recorded in IPTO’s ISP2 and ISP3 forecasts for the same month, the total installed capacity of large-scale batteries in the country is 220 MW. According to the same forecasts, the batteries absorbed energy primarily between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. and secondarily between 12:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m., while they discharged energy primarily between 4:00 PM and 11:00 PM and secondarily between 4:00 AM and 8:00 AM.
Overall, for the month of April, according to IPTO’s ISP2 and ISP3 forecasts, the batteries absorbed 4.04 GWh and supplied 3.51[3] GWh to the system. However, 0.61 GWh of energy was absorbed during hours when there were no RES curtailments. Given that total curtailments in April amounted to 475 GWh, it follows that the installed batteries prevented only 0.72% of RES curtailments, while the injection of 3.51 GWh reduced fossil gas use by just 0.26% in the same month. These figures highlight the need to accelerate the installation of battery storage systems that already have connection permits[4] in order to prevent more curtailments and reduce use of fossil gas during evening peak hours.
Hours with near-zero or negative prices
As for hours with near-zero or negative prices[5] on the wholesale electricity market, April 2026 saw 183 hours, 63.5 hours more than the previous month and 123 hours more than April 2025. In total, during the first four months of 2026, there were 517 hours with zero or negative prices, while during the same period in 2025, this occurred for only 68 hours.
[1]https://www.admie.gr/anakoinoseis/enimerosi/capacity-availability-italygreece-interconnection
[2]https://www.admie.gr/anakoinoseis/epeigoysa-enimerosi/capacity-availability-albaniagreece-interconnection-0
[3] However, based on IPTO’s Monthly Report for April, batteries consumed 3.53 GWh and they injected 2.9 GWh into the system, both at lower levels than predicted in ISP2 and ISP3 solutions.
[4] Based on the latest available data from IPTO (October 2025), batteries of total installed capacity of 1,468 MW have connection permits.
[5] We consider as near-zero all prices below 0.05 €/MWh.
