Public Power Corporation

Public Power Corporation (PPC) dismissed on Thursday as "totally inaccurate" a Kathimerini report saying it needed to save 500 million euros this year to shore up its finances.

The state-controlled utility has been hurt by hefty provisions for unpaid bills by Greek households and businesses during the country's financial crisis.

The McKinsey consulting group has warned the management of Public Power Corporation about the electricity giant's viability, recommending a 500-million-euro cut in expenditure within 2018 that would include expanding its voluntary exit program from 110 million euros today to 250 million euros.

The privatization of energy firms is entering the final stage and is expected to bring radical changes to the landscape in the local market.

The government is ceding control of the sale of Public Power Corporation's (PPC) lignite-powered plants, according to pledges made by Athens to the European Commission, Kathimerini has learned.

The entire process will be conducted by a so-called "monitoring trustee," who will have the role of on-the-spot inspector from the Commission's Directorate General for Competition (DGComp).

Public Power Corporation is close to acquiring an electrical energy trading company in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

An investigation into a large fire last summer in Kalamos, a holiday town north of Athens, has pointed the finger of blame at the Public Power Corporation (PPC).

The mid-August blaze was sparked by electricity poles planted along the side of the main road between Kapandriti and Aghioi Apostoloi, a Fire Service report published by Ta Nea daily in Thursday concluded.

The pattern of one losing session in every six continued at the Athens bourse on Wednesday as the benchmark posted a small decline with the morning losses contained over the course of the day. The volatile session saw an increase in turnover above the 70-million-euro mark.

The government and Public Power Corporation (PPC) are in the next few days set to return to the drawing board as regards the sale of lignite plants, in cooperation with the European Commission, following the completion of the market test on December 22.

Public Power Corporation (PPC), Greece's dominant power utility which has been badly hit by unpaid bills, reported a 66 percent drop in nine-month net profit on Thursday, hurt by an energy crisis earlier this year and regulatory costs.

The Public Power Corporation (PPC) said Tuesday that it is sending energy-saving LED light bulbs to almost 1,700 large families that are listed on its register of vulnerable groups.

PPC also sent the same type of light bulbs to residents of the small, remote islands of Agathonisi, Aghios Efstratios and Gavdos.