Nikos Mantzaris, Lead Policy Analyst and co-founder of The Green Tank, spoke to Alexandros Klossas on the “Proto Proino” morning show on Parapolitika FM 90.1 about the impact of geopolitical instability on energy markets, high electricity prices, and solutions that can help reduce costs for households and businesses.
As he noted, despite the significant increase in renewable electricity generation in Greece, the use of increasingly expensive fossil gas in power generation remains high. A significant share of this electricity is exported, while also pushing up prices in Greece’s wholesale electricity market. At the same time, the slow and limited deployment of energy storage so far means that cheap and clean renewable electricity cannot be fully utilised when there is a surplus, while periods of low renewable generation require demand to be met with expensive fossil gas-fired power generation.
Nikos Mantzaris also referred to the new ministerial decision on self-consumption, which, as he noted, while long overdue, is a very positive development. He also stressed the need for greater and more systematic public awareness, so that more households and energy communities know about and can make use of the options available to them.
In conclusion, he highlighted measures to reduce fossil gas use in power generation, accelerate energy storage and expand self-consumption as immediate priorities for containing electricity prices ahead of the winter, noting that the solutions already exist and need to be implemented more quickly.
Listen to the interview excerpt [in Greek] (23/09/2026) here.
