Public Power Corporation

The Energy Ministry presented a new bill on the electricity market on Thursday that introduces a series of important shifts, including an end to the ban on dismissals of staff hired at the Public Power Corporation (PPC) from now on.

The gradual distancing of Public Power Corporation (PPC) from Public Gas Corporation (DEPA), of which the power giant used to be the main client, will likely be the killing blow for the gas utility's competitiveness, just as the state is getting ready to privatize it.

Public Power Corporation is launching a counterattack in the retail market, expanding its activity to the provision of natural gas too.

Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos has been sent a legislative act to sign which foresees the cancellation of the electricity auction scheduled for October 16. With this act, the government aims to put an end to the auctions which have helped bring Public Power Corporation to its knees.

A new, more favorable settlement scheme for debts to Public Power Corporation is in the pipeline, Energy Minister Kostis Hatzidakis told Skai TV on Saturday, saying that the amount of the required downpayment will be reduced while the number of tranches will remain the same.

Electricity giant Public Power Corporation is scanning the market with a view to issuing an international corporate bond, following the introduction of streamlining measures that have averted the risk of the utility's collapse, chairman and chief executive Giorgos Stassis told analysts yon Wednesday while presenting PPC's first-half financial results.

Public Power Corporation appears to have escaped the risk of financial collapse for now, as PPC's first-half results and the certified accountants' report showed a considerable improvement, much to the government's relief.

A business plan being drafted by the management of Public Power Corporation includes a sweeping divestment of its lignite-powered plants. The plan, which is expected to be ready by mid-November, is meant to be factored into the structural changes of the local electricity market and the post-bailout assessment of the Greek economy by creditors.

The way has opened for the departure of the first 150 Public Power Corporation employees who can retire up to December 31, also with the consent of their union.

The Greek stock market benchmark ended its four-session rising streak on Monday, as the major surge in the Public Power Corporation's stock price was not enough to avert the slide in the main index that was largely brought on by anticipated profit taking by traders.