ECONOMY

PPC, HELPE get ministry nod for their investment programs

Development Minister Dimitris Sioufas lent his full support in Thessaloniki to the investment development plans of the Public Power Corporation (PPC) and Hellenic Petroleum (HELPE). At the opening of PPC’s kiosk at the Thessaloniki International Fair, Sioufas committed himself to lifting restrictions on replacing the power utility’s old units. «The government allows you to replace as many megawatts as you wish in old units at any time and in any area,» the minister said addressing the PPC board. He also committed to allowing the replacement of the lignite complex in Megalopolis, Peloponnese, with natural gas units, announcing the immediate expansion of the natural gas network from Corinth to Megalopolis. He also promised that after 2012 the new units in Crete will also operate on natural gas. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) will reach Crete from international markets at a terminal to be constructed for this purpose. He then called on the company’s board to proceed to the utilization of renewable energy sources (RES) and particularly of small hydroelectric stations, as well as expanding into the southeastern European market «with methodic steps.» Sioufas then inaugurated the HELPE kiosk and expressed the government’s support for the group’s investment plans for the modernization of the Elefsina refinery, which total over 1 billion euros, and the modernization work at the Thessaloniki refinery. The minister branded the Elefsina investment one of the biggest by a Greek company. PPC’s five priorities PPC will announce its new development plan next month, said President and CEO Takis Athanassopoulos, before referring to the five priorities it will include. They are: the study for the regulatory framework for the PPC business model, the production mix with a specific strategy, cost reduction, expansion into RES and the Balkans, and the formation of a new culture at PPC. Along with the new development plan in October, the PPC management will announce its decision on whether it will take its option for participating in the share capital of the Public Gas Corporation (DEPA), which is currently being discussed, Athanassopoulos said. He noted that the privatization issue is for the government to decide and appeared satisfied with the recent electricity rate increases approved. The PPC head announced further that the company is ready to implement a major program to modernize and expand its production potential and networks to contribute to the substantial improvement in service to customers. He added that the main objectives of the PPC business plan are the following: – Replacement of many old units with state-of-the-art, environmentally friendly ones, totaling 3,200 MW. – Dealing with all structural problems on the country’s islands. – New sources of revenues from RES, through the special PPC subsidiary and the company’s growth into SE Europe. – Network modernization, to strengthen the grid’s reliability and improve the quality of power supplied to customers.

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