136 million euros to energise Macedonia

Greece’s Ministry of Environment and Energy on Thursday announced the disbursement of 136 million euros for the lignite-dependent regions of western Macedonia and Megalopolis.

According to the Energy Minister Kostis Hatzidakis, the amount has been collected through the Public Power Corporation (PPC) and is known as "the lignite resource of PPC." The power company had distributed 22 million euros in 2019, under SYRIZA, related to fiscal 2013, but these have not been absorbed.

Hatzidakis added that although funds had been disbursed the last five years, they had not been allocated, and underlined the need for a speedy commitment to projects that will help lignite phase-out, under the EU's Just Transition Mechanism, which was presented along with the Sustainable Europe Investment Plan on January 14, 2020.

Furthermore, the Funds Distribution Committee convened on Thursday and allocated the sum of approximately 101.4 million euros for the period 2015-2018, of which 65.9 million euros is earmarked for the areas of Kozani and Eordea, 20.4 million euros for Florina and Amynteo, and the remaining 15.1 million euros for Arcadia's Megalopolis.

This includes the EU's Coal Regions in Transition Platform, which has greatly contributed in drafting strategies for the transition of Greece's lignite-dependent electricity production profile towards a sustainable model of renewable energy sources for a low carbon economy.