The Greek public electricity company PPC will try to open a new chapter in its 72-year history in 2023. It is about efforts to expand beyond the borders of Greece by buying energy companies or developing infrastructure for energy production. The Greek company’s ambitions are of a geostrategic nature, as they come against the backdrop of the energy crisis and geopolitical realignments caused by the war in Ukraine.
PPC plans to develop four projects, trying to play a key role in energy transport in the Western Balkans region.
Hydropower project in North Macedonia
One of the business agreements that PPC has concluded, but which is not yet known to the general public, is the participation in the tender in North Macedonia for the concession award for the development of the large hydropower project Čebren. The Greek company was the only one to submit a binding offer for the construction of a 330 MW hydroelectric power plant. The expected production of electricity is from 1,000 to 1,200 GWh per year. The government of North Macedonia approved PPC as the winner of the tender, but the administrative procedures for awarding the project to the Greek company are still ongoing.
The engagement of PPC in North Macedonia will have strategic importance, given that with the development of the Čebren project, the Greek company assumes an important role in terms of the security of energy supply in the country. At the same time, it is expanding its production portfolio, which enables it to offer its customers lower electricity prices in Greece and abroad.
Enel Romania
There is almost a month left (until the end of January) for the conclusion of exclusive negotiations between PPC and the Italian company Enel for the purchase of infrastructure and assets of Enel in Romania. The acquisition of this property by the Greek company will enable it to gain an important geostrategic position in the Balkans. Romania is an energy transit corridor to neighboring countries, which are eager to have alternative sources of supply.
If the negotiations are successful, PPC will put assets worth 1.2 to 1.3 billion euros under its roof. This includes wind farms operating with a total capacity of 534 MW, 3 million customers and a 130,000 kilometer power distribution network.
Mytileneos
PPC does not enter Romania only through the Italian company Enel. Recently, its subsidiary PPC Renewables announced that it has entered into an agreement with the Greek company Mytilineos for the development and construction of a solar project with a capacity of about 210 MW in Romania.
The project consists of two photovoltaic parks, which should enter commercial use in 2024. Both projects are being developed by Mytilineos, which will also deal with construction. The projects are located in the southern part of Romania, near Bucharest.
The larger of the two solar pairs is Kinisis, which should be ready for construction (Ready to Build) at the beginning of 2023, with a capacity of 130 MW. The remaining 80 MW will be ready for construction by the first quarter of 2023.
Upon completion of construction, the photovoltaic power plants will be transferred to the ownership of PPC Renewables.
Alexandropolis combined gas power plant
The recent agreement between PPC, DEPA Emporias and Damco Energy for the development and construction of a gas power plant in Alexandroupolis also has strategic importance for the security of energy supply in the Balkan region.
The 840 MW gas cogeneration plant is majority owned by PPC with a 51% stake, 29% of the shares are held by DEPA Emporias and 20% by Damco Energy. The power plant will be connected to the Nea Santa high-voltage substation, which is ideally positioned to export electricity to neighboring countries, where no new natural gas power plants are expected to be commissioned in the coming years.
Source: profit.ro
