THE NEW LAW ON ENERGY COMMUNITIES IN GREECE

Resumo

Greece has been one of the European countries mostly affected by issues related to energy poverty. In order to address the above phenomenon, a new law was passed on the 17th of January 2018. The central idea of the new law (L.4513/2018) is to introduce a new business model that will facilitate the transition to renewable energy sources with the active participation of local actors, while tackling the pressing issue of energy poverty. The vehicle through which the aforementioned goals will be achieved is a new type of cooperatives, that of the “energy communities” according to the terminology that is used by the legislator. However, several provisions on matters of membership, distribution of surpluses and allocation of the remainder after the energy community’s liquidation need a closer examination due to their inconsistency with the cooperative values and principles, as enshrined in the International Cooperative Alliance Statement on the Cooperative Identity.

Therefore, the study aims to offer an analysis of the recent L. 4513/2018 on energy communities. Specifically, it will examine if such initiative was a necessary step for the energy cooperatives’ formation and if the added provisions promote their
development, without putting in jeopardy the distinctive nature of cooperatives. To address the above questions, the study will base its analysis on the ICA Statement on Cooperative Identity and on the Principles of European Cooperative Law. Thestudy aspires to provide useful information for comparative studies on energy cooperative laws that are interested in including the Greek case and take into account the new law’s particular provisions.