Greece proposes stricter rules for data centre grid connections

The draft legislation, currently undergoing public consultation, devotes an entire Chapter D to data centres. Articles 19 to 28 establish a new framework covering final connection offers, financial guarantees, the duration of grid capacity reservations, the cost of connection works and the procurement of green electricity.

Under the proposed rules, the Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO/ADMIE) will be required to identify, in a separate section of its ten-year system development plan, the capacity available to accommodate data centres and the infrastructure that must be constructed or upgraded to connect them.

The 10 MW Threshold Determines Which Operator Handles Applications

The 10 MW threshold serves as the main dividing line between the two operators. Applications for installations with a capacity of up to 10 MW will be submitted to the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator (HEDNO), while applications for projects exceeding 10 MW will be handled by IPTO.

However, projects with a capacity of 4 MW or more may be transferred to IPTO if the distribution network is technically unable to accommodate them.

Financial Guarantees of €200,000 per MW

The most significant screening mechanism is financial. Applicants will be required to provide a bank guarantee with a minimum validity of three years, amounting to €200,000 per MW of maximum capacity.

Consequently, a 100 MW data centre would require a guarantee of €20 million, while a 200 MW facility would face a requirement of €40 million.

Investors must also submit a complete Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) file, demonstrate lawful use of the property through a lease or concession agreement lasting at least ten years, and obtain preliminary approval for a building permit.

Projects connecting to the transmission system will also be subject to a financial capacity test. The annual turnover of the investor, its shareholders or affiliated entities must exceed 30% of the estimated project cost, which is assumed to be €10 million per MW for the purposes of this assessment.

Three-Year Connection Offers and Additional Requirements

A grid connection offer will remain valid for three years, provided it is accepted within two months.

Within 12 months of the offer being issued, the investor must submit a bilateral electricity purchase agreement and a technical report containing information on energy efficiency and cooling technology. Failure to submit the required documentation will result in the cancellation of the connection offer.

Priority Access for Data Centres Exceeding 200 MW

The draft legislation provides special treatment for very large projects. Data centres exceeding 200 MW will receive absolute priority over other applications in the same category, provided that at least 80% of their maximum power capacity is covered by a dispatchable generation unit and/or an energy storage system with a minimum duration of six hours.

This provision is intended to link priority access to the electricity grid with the availability of generation and storage capacity capable of supporting the facility’s power requirements.

Minimum 60% Renewable Electricity Requirement

The proposed legislation also introduces a minimum renewable energy threshold. From the start of operations, data centres will be required to cover at least 60% of their total annual electricity consumption through renewable energy sources.

Investors to Bear the Full Cost of Dedicated Grid Infrastructure

Finally, investors will be fully responsible for the cost of any network or transmission system extensions and upgrades required exclusively to connect their data centres.

These costs will not be included in the regulated asset base of the network operators, meaning they cannot be transferred to the regulated infrastructure base through which operators recover their investments.