PPC to look into death of disabled customer
The Public Power Corporation (PPC) launched an administrative inquiry on Thursday into why electricity supplied to the home on Crete of a quadriplegic customer on life support was cut, resulting in the woman’s death about an hour later.
PPC issued a statement on Thursday afternoon saying that it did not know the woman from Hania was reliant on medical equipment to keep her alive before disconnecting her from the grid due to unpaid bills of a reported 237 euros. The company said that she was not one of some 650,000 people who have been placed on a list that protects them from disconnection, nor was she included in a list of the 5,874 PPC customers that are on life support.
The power firm said that it would investigate the incident after the woman’s son told Skai TV that the family had applied for special status but had not received any acknowledgement from PPC.
Opposition parties SYRIZA and Independent Greeks called for a judicial investigation into the incident. SYRIZA MP Giorgos Stathakis, who is from Crete, said the woman’s death was “unacceptable and inhumane.” “How many more human tragedies do we need to see as a result of the memorandums and emergency taxes?” said Independent Greeks spokesman Terence Quick.
The National Confederation of Disabled People said that PPC had to take at least part of the blame for the woman’s death. “It is already too late and the responsibility will stick to the culprits,” the organization said in a statement. “Let’s make sure there is not another victim.”
