PPC caught in a storm related to its own sustainability

Kathimerini’s revelation that consultancy company McKinsey has deemed Public Power Corporation unsustainable while drafting its new business plan has generated concern not only at the power giant but also in the Energy Ministry.

McKinsey’s opinion that PPC will have to cut its operating expenses by 500 million euros by 2022, including a voluntary redundancy program for 2,000 employees, also provoked a strong reaction from the opposition, which called for an immediate meeting of the Parliamentary Committee for Production and Energy. Minister Giorgos Stathakis will then have to inform the deputies about the study by McKinsey and its views on the power giant’s sustainability problem.

The government and PPC tried to reverse the picture created by the report, saying in a statement that “PPC is strong and will be stronger,” blaming the press instead for “negative publicity” and playing political games.

In their statement they also tried to refute Kathimerini’s revelation that banks are finding it hard to refinance the 1.3-billion-euro loan PPC has taken out, referring to a “fragmentary account of obsolete data.”