Authors: Filippos Ioannidis, Kyriaki Kosmidou, Iordanis Kalaitzoglou, Kostas Andriosopoulos, Emilios Galariotis

Title: INVESTING IN BRIDGING FUELS: THE UNIT COMMITMENT PROBLEM OF PUBLIC VS PRIVATE VENTURES

Abstract

Natural gas is broadly considered as the bridging fuel that is leading the way throughout the global energy transition. This paper investigates the efficiency of public versus private natural-gas-fired units in managing their unit commitment problem in the electricity market of Greece. The continuous liberalization and decarbonization processes are gradually transforming the country into an important energy hub of the Southeast Europe, with both public and private sector aiming to take advantage of the increased penetration of natural gas into the electricity mix. By utilizing a unique hourly dataset for the period 2015-2019, our analysis based on risk-weighted performance metrics indicates a clear superiority of public units. Yet, both groups increase their efficiency over the years with private units achieving it at a greater pace. This clearly suggests that market liberalization assists competition in the Greek electricity market.