The more than half a billion euros in damages reported by Greece’s dominant electricity utility, ATHEX-listed and state-controlled Public Power Corp. (PPC), continued to cause reverberations across the country’s political and economic spectrum at the beginning of the week.
Turning to “damage control” mode on Monday, PPC CEO Manolis Panagiotakis underlined that the previous power monopoly in the country is a “national asset, which doesn’t belong to either parties or governments. Everyone is obliged to deal with it in a supportive manner… danger-mongering damages national interests, and not just PPC’s.”
In comments to the state-run news agency, the head of the now debt-laden PPC said he believes the utility can post profits for 2019 by avoiding certain burdens of past years.
In offering a few specific examples, he pointed to reduced NOME auctions – sold-off blocs of future electricity production from lignite-fired units or hydroelectric plants – as well as revenue from the – EU-mandated – sale of four lignite units via a new international tender.
The previous tender was declared null and void.
In a related development, Energy Minister Giorgos Stathakis on Monday denied press reports of looming rate hikes in order to boost PPC’s revenues, while attempting to deflect wide-spread concern domestically over the fate of the still dominant retail and wholesale power provider, noting that “PPC will not collapse in 2020.”
