Greece’s state-run and dominant power utility (PPC) will reportedly announce the lignite-fired units that it will place on the selling block in a matter of weeks, with Athens expected to forward a relevant list to the EU Commission.
The development stems from a recent ruling handed down by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), which judged that the Public Power Corp.’s exclusive exploitation of the country’s lignite deposits for its lignite-fired units is a monopoly.
The Commission, on its part, has also maintained that listed PPC, once Greece’s only power supplier in every category, should reduce its dominant position in the retail electricity market by selling off a portion of its power generating units.
The current leftist-rightist coalition government is already desperately trying to implement various memorandum-mandated prior actions, which besides fiscal targets, include several market-friendly liberalizations — especially in the energy and transport sectors.
The list of proposed units for sale will be sent to Brussels for review, with the relevant minister promising to proceed with a market test in the fall of 2017 in order to gauge investors’ interest.
