Market test to follow lignite plant sale deal

The deal with the country’s creditors concerning the sale of Public Power Corporation’s lignite units is definitively sealed, and on Friday the two sides will formally confirm it. Now Energy Minister Giorgos Stathakis has to manage the front that has opened with the PPC union (GENOP) and the local communities of Florina and Megalopoli.

On Tuesday PPC workers held a rally outside the ministry chanting that private investors are not welcome in their communities. Stathakis gave assurances he has received guarantees about the jobs at the plants to be privatized as well as additional benefits for local communities.

Stathakis and Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos had a meeting with the chiefs of the creditors’ mission, in which they discussed the technical aspects of the deal’s application – how Greece will sell the two units at Megalopoli, the existing unit at Meliti and one licensed to be constructed at Meliti, near Florina. The sale is seen being wrapped up by June.

Stathakis stated that the market test, which will record investor interest in the units, will start as soon as the deal is formally announced by the European Commission, which will monitor the test closely