EBRD to lend PPC €160 mln to mitigate pandemic’s impact

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing a senior unsecured loan of up to €160 million to Public Power Corporation SA (PPC), the largest power producer and electricity supplier in Greece, to address the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. 

The facility will support PPC’s working capital needs at a time of customer payment volatility following the outbreak of the crisis.

It will also strengthen the resilience of the electricity sector as a whole by ensuring the stability of essential utility supplies and maintaining the momentum toward decarbonization.

The loan comes under the EBRD’s Vital Infrastructure Support Program to ensure the provision of vital services in its countries of operations confronted with acute pressure from the coronavirus pandemic.

The initiative is part of the bank’s overall response to Covid-19.

In the 2020-2021 period, the EBRD expects to dedicate the entirety of its business investment of up to €21 billion to tackle the challenges posed by the crisis.

PPC is central to Greece’s efforts to implement an ambitious decarbonization strategy, aiming to close all of its existing coal-fired power plants by the end of 2023.

The EBRD is helping PPC to establish an action plan to implement recommendations from the Task Force for Climate-related Disclosure (TCFD) by identifying key climate risks and opportunities and developing an associated plan to mitigate and adapt to these risks.

The TCFD is an initiative which was set up by the Financial Stability Board (FSB) to develop recommendations for more effective climate-related disclosures. 

PPC Chairman and CEO George Stassis said: “The extraordinary conditions that we faced due to Covid-19 pushed us to change our business operation in order to adapt to the new environment and to redefine the relationship with our customers, a process which we had already initiated in previous months. Despite initial disruptions to our liquidity at the outset of the pandemic in March, we have succeeded in regaining pre-Covid levels since May, thanks to introducing new ways of communicating to and serving our customers. In any case, there is no room for complacency. We are closely monitoring the situation and we aim to shield the company against the possibility of a new pandemic wave. The EBRD has supported us in this effort from the beginning.”