Public Power Corporation

The crisis that the Public Power Corporation (PPC) faces is long-term and complex crisis and is the result of mismanagement and delayed interventions.

Since 2005 PPC faced misfortunes and had inadequate and deeply partisan management which lacked the knowledge and understanding of the problems of a large industrial company.

An effort to boost Public Power Corporation's (PPC) revenues without increasing the burden on consumers - as promised by Energy Minister Kostis Hatzidakis and PPC's new management under Giorgos Stassis - is looking like an increasingly challenging task, as estimates of the amount needed to balance the company's accounts are estimated at 700 million euros on an annual basis.

Public Power Corporation could collect about a quarter of the 2.7 billion euros in unpaid bills as part of the government's effort to prevent the utility from going bankrupt, but this has to be done with great care, a finance professor and dues payment expert tells Kathimerini English Edition.

The streamlining plan for Public Power Corporation (PPC) that was announced by the government in Parliament on Monday appears to have secured the provisional consent of Greece's creditors.

The new government's strategic plan for streamlining and restructuring Public Power Corporation will start with the part-privatization of the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator (DEDDIE).

The tender for Public Power Corporation's four lignite-powered plants proved barren once more, as the troubled utility on Monday said that there have been no bids for the units at Meliti and Megalopoli, even though no minimum price was demanded from investors.

In comments to Skai on Friday, Energy Minister Costis Hatzidakis said he could not rule out the possibility of power cuts as the country's electricity network "is stretched to its limits."

Efforts are being made to ensure that the network operates as smoothly as possible, he said. noting however that extended neglect has taken its toll.

Public Power Corporation (PPC) chief Manolis Panagiotakis stepped down on Wednesday as chairman and chief executive officer of troubled state utility, tendering his resignation to new Energy Minister Costis Hatzidakis, saying that his decision aims to "make it easier for the government to implement its policy."

The Public Power Corporations' President and CEO, Manolis Panagiotakis, submitted his resignation today at a meeting with newly-appointed Environment and Energy Minister Kostis Hatzidakis.

At the request of the minister Panagiotakis has reportedly agreed to stay on in his post pending the appointment of a successor.

A day before the publication of Public Power Corporation's first-quarter results on Friday, which will reveal the extent of the utility's financial troubles, the corporation's chairman and chief executive officer chose to present an account of his time in office at PPC's annual general meeting.