PPC warning over planned power auctions

Public Power Corporation (PPC) warned on Thursday it could be hurt by electricity auctions being planned by Athens to open up the country's power market if pricing is too low.

PPC, 51 percent owned by the state, controls about 60 percent of the wholesale electricity market and about 90 percent of the retail market. But under an international bailout signed by Greece last year, the third since 2010, Athens agreed to introduce electricity auctions this month, aiming to lower PPC's share in the retail and wholesale market by 50 percentage points by 2020.

This would see electricity capacity sold at auction to retailers, which would then sell it to their own clients.

PPC warned that the power auctions should not be priced much lower than the current average wholesale price for power purchases, otherwise, it would cause "excessive production losses" for the company.

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