By K. Deligiannis
A closely watched draft bill, expected to be tabled by the relevant Greek energy and environment ministry this week, details an international tender process to sell-off 40-percent of the state-run Public Power Corp.’s (PPC) lignite-fired power capacity.
The partial privatization is a memorandum obligation vis-a-vis institutional creditors, as well as a standing demand by the EU Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition (DG COMP), in order to further liberalize the previous electricity monopoly in the country.
The draft bill also specifies the framework under which the power units and accompanying lignite pits will be operated under private owners.
By all accounts, the leftist-rightist coalition government aims to provide the new owners – which will arise from an international tender process – the opportunity to assume control of the assets as of Jan. 1, 2019.
Based on a copy of the draft legislation seen by “N”, the international tender will take place in May, with legal steps taken to separate the units to be sold off by PPC by June or July 2018.
All of the procedures to allow for a signing of the transaction contract will have to be finalized by October, followed by the issuance of licenses – for private operators – by the end of the year.
Negotiations between the Greek side and the DG Comp finally concluded last December, with the final list of units on the sale block, however, different – by half – from what the government initially proposed.
Instead of two units in northern Greece, Amynteo I and II, Megalopolis III and IV, in southern Greece, will take their place. The two latter plants will be joined by Meliti I, in extreme northwest Florina, and a license to construct another unit at the same site.
