PPC seeks capacity mechanism from EU for Greek coal unit

Greece's Public Power Corporation (PPC) said on Wednesday that a 1.4 billion-euro coal-fired plant project is at risk without a capacity remuneration mechanism, following a jump in carbon emissions costs.

Capacity mechanisms are measures introduced by some EU member states to compensate power producers for making available electricity. They ensure demand for electricity is always met and secure a steady flow of money to producers for energy security.

PPC said that company president Manolis Panagiotakis had written a letter to the European Union's top competition official, Margrethe Vestager, saying the mechanism was "absolutely necessary" to ensure the viability of PPC's Ptolemaida unit, under construction in northern Greece.

"The opposite, would have a catastrophic impact on PPC and eventually on the Greek energy market and on the economy," PPC said.