Debts to PPC will be settled on easier terms

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.

Indebted consumers who have been cut off currently need to pay 40 percent of what they owe in advance and the remainder in up to 12 installments in order to be reconnected.

“Regarding the downpayment, PPC has decided to reduce and rationalize the level of 40 percent,” Hatzidakis said. “We are hearing the people, both at the ministry and at PPC.”

The minister also said that a regulation for abolishing power auctions (NOME) will be submitted to Parliament on Monday. “The NOME auctions cost PPC 600 million euros, which was money in the pockets of its competitors,” he said.

Hatzidakis further spoke at length about the previous administration’s culpability in the poor state of PPC, stressing that on a political level “those being accused cannot start accusing others.” He further assured that PPC cannot be privatized given its loss-making status. “Even though it has managed to get its nose out of the water,” it has not yet reached the point of being attractive to potential buyers, he said.