Legislation

Greece’s new self-consumption framework: what changes for solar on homes and businesses

The Ministry of Environment and Energy has reshaped the rules for anyone generating their own electricity. Balcony solar and batteries without panels are allowed for the first time. Here is what applies, who it covers and from when.

Who it covers and why the framework is changing

The new rules address anyone who wants to cover part or all of their consumption with their own generation: households, businesses and self-employed professionals, farmers, energy communities, municipalities and general government bodies, water utilities, and any other public or private entity. They apply both on the interconnected system and on the non-interconnected islands.

The change is part of the three-year roadmap for reducing energy costs announced at the Thessaloniki International Fair as part of the Agreement for Progress and Prosperity. The aim is to correct problems that surfaced while the previous rules were in force, and to make the procedures simpler and more flexible. Before taking its final form, the draft went through a 15-day public consultation.

The most important changes at a glance:

• balcony solar with a maximum generation output of 800 W, strictly for self-consumption
• standalone storage systems (batteries) that do not export energy to the grid
• a separate self-consumption procedure for municipalities, public-sector legal entities and charitable foundations
• the option for consumers in one self-consumption scheme to be represented by different suppliers
• subject to conditions, moving from one scheme to another and connecting a single supply point to more than one station
• simpler and clearer procedures across every scheme

How self-consumption works in practice

The basic idea is unchanged: the energy your solar system generates is consumed on site first. Whatever is left over is either fed into the grid for compensation or, if you have a battery, stored for later. You therefore buy less energy from your supplier, which cuts both the bill and the carbon footprint.

Take a bakery with solar panels and no battery. While it is operating, it uses the generation directly. When generation exceeds consumption, the surplus goes to the grid and is compensated on the basis of Day-Ahead Market revenues. When generation falls short, the difference is bought from the grid at the supplier’s tariff.

Add a battery to the same bakery and the picture changes. With consumption of 100 kWh and generation of 120 kWh over a period, 100 kWh covers its needs directly. The surplus 20 kWh is either stored or exported, depending on how the system is configured, and is used when generation drops. The result is a higher self-consumption ratio and less energy drawn from the grid. Combining self-consumption stations with storage is explicitly provided for, under specific technical conditions.

The logic is the same in a home. For residential systems up to 10.8 kW there is also a dedicated programme, under which the monetary value of the surplus energy is credited on the electricity settlement bill. There is more on the offsetting mechanism in our Net Billing 2026 article.

Balcony solar: up to 800 W

The headline novelty is so-called balcony solar: small systems for a balcony or terrace that lower the bill without a major installation, as already happens in other European countries and in line with the European Directive. The limit is 800 W of maximum generation output and up to 1,000 W of installed capacity. In practice that means the rated output of the panels can be slightly higher than what the system delivers into the home’s installation. Combining it with a battery is allowed, always for self-consumption only.

No conventional permit is required. An electronic notification through a dedicated DEDDIE digital portal is enough, and the portal is expected to go live by the end of the year. Four conditions apply, to protect the grid and the electrical installation:

• Safety specifications: DEDDIE, together with the Hellenic Organization for Standardization (ELOT), will issue specifications for installing, connecting and operating these systems. Compliance will be certified by a declaration from an engineer or installer.
• Smart meter: DEDDIE installs one as a requirement, so that the operation of the system and the behaviour of the grid can be monitored.
• Valid installer declaration: the supply point the system connects to must hold a valid Installer Declaration (YDE).
• Areas without headroom: DEDDIE may designate sections of the grid that cannot absorb additional generation and prohibit new balcony systems from connecting there.

Watch the timing: installation and connection are only permitted once the safety specifications are published on the DEDDIE website, which is scheduled for no later than 31 October 2026. Until then we would not recommend buying an off-the-shelf kit, since there is no certainty it will meet the final requirements.

Batteries: alongside solar panels, or on their own

For self-consumption stations with a storage system, the new framework settles three things: the battery power limits relative to the agreed capacity of the supply point or the capacity of the station, the conditions for importing and exporting energy to and from the grid, and the permitting procedure that applies.

The bigger change, though, is that for the first time you can install a battery without owning solar panels or any other renewable station. The battery charges from the grid and covers only your own consumption. Combined with a dynamic tariff, that means charging when electricity is cheap and drawing on the stored energy when the price climbs.

Standalone batteries get a simplified permitting route, clear installation and connection terms, an exemption from the letter of guarantee for low-voltage consumers, and absolute priority when the Operator reviews applications. If you are considering this, first look at how we size a battery properly, because capacity largely determines whether the investment pays for itself.

Municipalities, public bodies and charitable foundations

A separate procedure is established for municipalities, public-sector legal entities under both public and private law, and charitable foundations, so they can use net billing and virtual net billing. Their solar stations can serve, for example, schools, health centres and hospitals, sports facilities, street-lighting networks, and water and sewerage installations.

The benefit will appear directly on their electricity bills as a discount, cutting their operating costs immediately.

Every offsetting scheme, with more flexibility

The framework covers every form of self-consumption: net metering and its virtual counterpart, net billing and virtual net billing. In line with the European Directive it also provides for collective self-consumption by several consumers together, and for stations owned or managed by a third party.

In practice you gain flexibility: subject to conditions you can switch schemes or connect the same supply point to more than one station, while offsetting contracts with your supplier will be signed faster and with less paperwork.

What happens to unfinished net billing projects

Anyone who has already started a net billing or virtual net billing station will not lose their connection because of the change. If a Final Connection Offer has been issued or a Connection Agreement signed, but the station was not energised before the new framework was published, its validity period starts again. That leaves time to finish construction without nasty surprises.

A digital register and smart meters

Behind the scenes, administration is moving onto a digital footing. The Electronic Register of Energy Self-Consumers will hold and update the details of self-consumers, supply points and stations electronically, while smart meters will record measurements in real time. That means more accurate offsetting, faster exchange of data between the bodies involved, better supervision of systems and, above all, less paperwork and shorter permitting times.

When the changes take effect

The new framework becomes fully operational once the relevant Ministerial Decision is published. From that point, households, businesses, professionals, farmers, energy communities, municipalities, general government bodies and charitable foundations can install a self-consumption station with or without a battery, or even a battery on its own, and offset their consumption.

Balcony solar is the exception: installation and connection begin after DEDDIE publishes the safety specifications, which is scheduled for no later than 31 October 2026.

An engineer’s view: what to check before you decide

The new framework opens up more routes, but the right choice depends on your consumption profile. An 800 W balcony system covers a small share of a home’s consumption, mainly loads that run continuously through the day such as a fridge or a router. For a meaningful cut in the bill, a system on the roof or terrace remains the more productive option.

Before doing anything, check whether your installer declaration is valid, what the agreed capacity of your supply point is (the battery power limits are set against it), whether you are on a dynamic tariff and which hours you consume most. With those in hand, an energy study shows in numbers whether solar panels, a battery or both make sense for you, and which offsetting scheme fits. See also how we handle solar panel installation for homes and businesses.

Source: Newsroom, Oikonomikos Tachydromos, Self-consumption by households and businesses – what changes and who it affects, in 11 questions (ot.gr, 14 September 2026, in Greek). The questions and answers in the original article were drafted by the Greek Ministry of Environment and Energy.