The administration at main power utility PPC expects its planned expansion into the Albanian market to play an important role in helping offset the utility’s anticipated bailout-required market share losses in Greece.

PPC has already established a subsidiary firm in Albania, a move that indicates the utility’s eagerness to pursue a two-pronged attack through which domestic domestic activities will be broadened and foreign market campaigns intensified.

The utility’s chief executive Manolis Panagiotakis recently held a series of key talks in Albania within the framework of a PPC-organized conference on the neighboring country’s hydropower potential.

Albania’s energy minister Damian Gjikouri, his deputy, Gesim Musabelliu, and the country’s economic development minister, Milva Ekonomi, all made clear their interest to establish a strategic partnership with PPC, perceived by the Albanian officials as a key regional player in electricity.

PPC officials, in comments made to energypress, noted that Albania possesses enormous hydropower potential. The country plans to roughly double its overall electricity production by 2030 from the current level of 4,200 GWh to over 8,100 GWh. The greatest part of this increase will come through Albania’s utilization of its hydropower sources, whose proven dynamic has been measured at 4,500 MW. About 1,460 MW is being utilized at present.

Albania also needs to develop its power distribution network as well as its thermal electricity production domain as the country heavily relies on water for power production at a level of 85 percent.

Besides relying on the knowhow of its personnel, especially in the hydropower sector, PPC also intends to collaborate with Greek construction firms with experience in such projects. Some were represented at the recent conference in Albania.

PPC is looking for new sources of revenue, through its involvement in major energy sector projects, both in Greece and abroad, to offset its anticipated losses to be caused by the bailout-required breakaway of its subsidiary firm IPTO, the power grid operator, as well as the utility’s expected market share contraction, another bailout demand.

Besides its ambitions in Albania, PPC will seek to find a partner to submit a joint bid for development of a submarine cable connection linking Crete with mainland Greece. PPC also plans to develop renewable energy source projects, in various RES fields, through its subsidiary firm PPC Renewables. The utility will also eye projects in other countries such as Turkey, Egypt, and Iran, and also focus on Greece’s rapidly expanding electric car market.