The first CNG decompression station in Greece was inaugurated yesterday in Lagadas, Thessaloniki, by EDA THESS. The later, abiding by its commitment to supply remote areas has started expanding its distribution network to remote areas with CNG. The Municipality of Lagadas is now the first area in Greece to be supplied with gas through CNG technology.
Statements from the connection event
Mr. S. Famelos, Deputy Minister of Environment and Energy, said that Lagadas is the first supplied area with natural gas through a de-compressor meeting strictly high safety standards and stressed that several areas of Thessaloniki region as well as the rest of Greece, and eventually more and more consumers, businesses and households shall have access to gas. He pointed out that special legislation and technical regulations had to be enacted and underlined the significance of the regulatory framework approved by RAE.
Particular reference was made to the fact that, according to EDA THESS decision, connection to the local network in Lagadas is free of charge and as he underlined, “This is a real success story”. Mr. Famelos pointed out that gas has the smallest carbon footprint of all fossil fuels, while it is the energy tool to lead Greece to the renewable energy era. He also added that “this actually means that in the next decade, when almost 50% of energy is to come from renewable sources, there will be stable investments in the field of gas, thus ensuring the network development under the relevant regulation.
Mr. Α. Tzitzikostas, Regional Governor of Central Macedonia, stated that “this is really a great day, when natural gas is coming to the city”, stressing that it is an environmentally friendly and cheap energy for citizens, households and businesses, significantly reducing costs and supporting local economy. At the same time, he added that the Region of Central Macedonia understands the significance of gas reaching the whole Macedonia area and that already fifteen million euro have been reserved so that gas can reach all towns in the prefecture of Thessaloniki.
During the event, Mr. G. Karagiannis, Mayor of Lagadas, mentioned that it was a big and historic day for Lagadas. He stressed that what happened in the town “was not at all self-evident” and that it was the outcome of continuous, co-ordinated and effective cooperation of EDA THESS, local government, regional government, ministry, RAE with all competent bodies.
Concluding, he pointed out that all parties involved believed in a plan rather pioneering and innovative for Greece. He praised the significance that tariff is the same as in the city of Thessaloniki, without any additional cost to the citizens. He also added that “new technology, actually, saves money from public spending on network construction, which funds are invested in the city outskirts, starting from Lagadas, thus resulting in enormous savings in public money as well as significant benefits for consumers”.
Mr. A. Chiarini, CEO of Eni gas e luce S.p.A., in his speech, referred to the successful Company course after twelve years of cooperation. He also stated that “by being EDA THESS shareholders, as well as with investments made jointly with DEPA, during the recent depression, we are rather pleased that the people of Lagadas can enjoy gas, and actually with a positive environmental impact and at affordable cost”. He added that the application of new technology gives value to citizens, small businesses and local economy in general.
Mr. D. Tzortzis, CEO of DEPA, taking the floor, said that “DEPA is the company that brought gas to Greece three decades ago, with investments amounting to three billion and we are taking one step further”. He stressed out that the guidelines of the Ministry were to supply with gas as many areas as possible and that efforts are focused on such requirement.
Mr. V. Bouras, EDA THESS Chairman of the Board of Directors underlined the significance of the “consistency” with which the Company responds to the consumers’ demands and the seriousness with which it anticipates any facility safety and gas distribution issues. According to him, “The term Model attributed to the Company is all but an exaggeration – it has been attributed by third parties” and continued “To this end the Company constantly invests in infrastructure and the most state-of-the-art technological equipment”.
Ms. N. Karakatsani, representative of the RAE Plenary session, in her greeting said that this is a historic moment, a landmark for the energy future of the whole area and a starting point for several remote areas. She added that “geographical distance should not impose energy isolation and cannot be a criterion for energy exclusion. RAE has formulated a balanced framework, aspiring to introduce incentives for operators to be efficient and develop networks with balanced costs for consumers”.
Mr. L. Bakouras, General Manager of EDA THESS, thanked the Ministry for its actions towards the Technical Regulation adoption and especially Mr. Famelos, RAE for the adoption of the regulatory framework and Mr. Tzitzikostas, Regional Governor of Central Macedonia, for the actions supporting the Company on the network development and for the inclusion of the €15m funding in the 2019 – 2023 Development Plan of the Company. He also thanked Mr. Karagiannis, Mayor of Lagadas, for his cooperation and hospitality, the shareholders and BoD members, for their support to EDA THESS during the last couple of years to achieve its goal” CNG supply of remote areas.
He referred to the fast project completion, thanks to the coordinated actions of the Company staff acted, which he congratulated. He added that residents of Lagadas exhibited great interest as 600 connection applications have already been lodged and the signed contracts amount to 62, of which 7 are municipal buildings that this winter are to benefit from the use of natural gas.
He also pointed out that 6km of low pressure network was constructed and by 2022 the network is expected to reach 10.5km; connections shall reach the number of 1500, with maximum annual consumption of 1.5m m3, an investment of more than €3m. The development of the network shall continue, so as to cover most of Lagadas, according to the citizens’ interest.
GAS DISTRIBUTION COMPANY
THESSALONIKI – THESSALIA SA
