By K. Deligiannis
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The head of Greece’s dominant power utility, the ATHEX-listed but still state-controlled Public Power Corp. (PPC), on Wednesday said an increase in electricity rates is “required”.
PPC CEO and president Manolis Panagiotakis said higher power rates – already high comparable to similar markets in the EU – are necessary for the utility to deal with higher operational costs and, primarily, to seek new market borrowing in order to restructure its debts.
Panagiotakis made the statement on the sidelines of an event at the Syntagma metro station to promote the use of e-statements by PPC’s consumers – a standard procedure used by other such utilities across the EU that PPC is now trying to follow.
The PPC chief said power increases will hover in the “single-digit” territory, while adding that whatever decisions must be taken in the next 15 days in order to foray into the markets for its borrowing needs.
As previously reported by “N”, the debt-laden Greek power utility, which still holds a dominant position in Greece’s retail and wholesale electricity sector despite at least a decade of liberalization and an end to its top-down monopoly, said efforts are underway to “feel out” would-be investors over prospects of a 250 to 300-million-euro bond issue by the company.
