EU to charge PPC with abusing position

Bad news is coming to Public Power Corporation from Brussels, as a probe by the European Commission's Directorate General for Competition (DG Comp), which started with the unexpected arrival of inspectors at the offices of PPC and grid operator ADMIE earlier this month, has confirmed concerns about the power giant's possible abuse of its dominant position.

Sources say that an investigation has confirmed that the algorithm according to which the hydroelectric plants are set in operation had been tampered with in a way that allows PPC to manipulate the system marginal price (SMP) that changes daily in the wholesale market.

According to the same sources, PPC has been notified of the findings of the probe and has already been invited by DG Comp to respond to questions.

In the context of this process DG Comp officials visited the PPC headquarters at the start of the...