Greece’s Ministry of Environment and Energy has published a new policy framework overhauling the country’s self-consumption regime. The framework does not require parliamentary approval and took effect immediately.
The ministry said the new framework “makes self-consumption simpler and more flexible, streamlines procedures, and expands opportunities for consumer participation.” It follows a public consultation that took place in the summer.
For the first time in Greece, the framework allows plug-in PV systems of up to 800 W, commonly known as balcony solar, as well as standalone batteries that are not connected to renewable energy systems.
Balcony solar systems and standalone batteries must be used exclusively for self-consumption and cannot inject electricity into the grid. However, when combined with dynamic electricity tariffs, the ministry said these systems will allow consumers “to store energy from the grid during periods of lower prices and utilize it to meet their needs during periods of higher prices, thereby reducing their energy costs.”
Plug-in PV systems must be installed alongside smart meters so the local distribution grid operator can monitor them remotely. They must also comply with specific safety requirements designed to protect the grid and other electrical installations. The grid operator must publish the requirements on its website by Oct. 31, 2026, and installers will be required to sign a document confirming compliance with the specifications.
Although balcony solar systems cannot inject electricity into the grid, the framework allows the grid operator “to identify sections of the grid where connecting new ‘balcony photovoltaics’ is not feasible due to limited capacity to absorb additional generation, and to prohibit their connection in those specific areas,” according to the ministry.
The ministry said the framework will overhaul Greece’s self-consumption market by simplifying the development and operation of such systems. The main policy changes are as follows.
The framework establishes an electronic registry of energy self-consumers containing data on self-consumption systems and electricity supply points. Combined with the installation of smart meters, the registry is expected to improve management of the self-consumption market.
Self-consumption systems on the Greek mainland and islands will be permitted to add batteries, subject to technical requirements. Some self-consumption systems in Greece have already been installed with batteries, but the framework will allow batteries to be added to existing systems that do not have them. Batteries installed alongside PV systems on the islands will not be permitted to inject electricity into the grid.
The framework also aims to expand self-consumption on Greece’s islands. The ministry plans to allocate €476 million ($549.5 million) through the Islands Decarbonization Fund to support such projects.
The ministry has also clarified the compensation process for self-consumption systems that inject excess electricity into the grid. Surplus electricity supplied to the grid will be compensated at day-ahead market prices.
Systems on non-interconnected islands, which do not supply electricity to the mainland grid and therefore do not participate in the mainland electricity market, will be compensated at a special market price set separately for each renewable energy technology. The prices are periodically set by Greece’s Operator of Renewable Energy Sources and Guarantees of Origin, a state institution.
The policy establishes procedures for settling all self-consumption schemes, including net metering, virtual net metering, net billing and virtual net billing. The ministry said this will simplify relationships among system owners, electricity suppliers and aggregators while accelerating payments.
Special provisions will allow local authorities, public-sector entities governed by public or private law, and charitable foundations to operate self-consumption systems under net-billing and virtual net-billing schemes.
Schools, health centers, hospitals, sports facilities, street-lighting networks, and water and sewage infrastructure will therefore be able to install PV and battery systems and receive credits for the electricity they generate directly on their power bills. Such provisions previously applied only to residential self-consumption systems.
Group self-consumption, previously available to residents of the same building, will be expanded to include consumers within residential complexes, enabling neighborhood-level self-consumption projects.
The Hellenic Association of Photovoltaic Companies (Helapco), one of Greece’s main solar industry associations, welcomed the framework, saying it “incorporates most of the market’s proposals, as well as new regulations mandated by EU directives.”
Helapco said weaknesses in the previous regulatory framework had caused Greece’s self-consumption market to stagnate.
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