The transfer of loans worth a total of 120 million euros from the main power utility PPC to a new holding company concerning the utility’s subsidiary IPTO, the power grid operator, demanded by the country’s four main banks as part of the operator’s split and sale process from PPC, has yet to be made, meaning the operator’s breakaway from the parent company will not be discussed and endorsed at today’s PPC general shareholders’ meeting.

Certain legal and technical issues still need to be resolved before the transfer of loans to the new IPTO holding company can be performed, well informed sources told energypress.

The banks insist that PPC, minus its operator, will have trouble servicing these loans, the same sources noted. The loan transfers to the IPTO holding company has been set as a prerequisite by the banks if the IPTO split from PPC is to be endorsed.

The IPTO holding company will be able to service the loans through dividends to be received by the operator, the banks have stated.

Despite this banking complication, today’s PPC general shareholders’ meeting, already rescheduled, will be staged as company law forbids a second successive postponement. However, a representative for the Greek State, which holds a 34 percent stake in the utility, will request that the loans transfer issue not be discussed at the session. It will be discussed at the next meeting, expected to be held in about one week or possibly ten days, at most.

The government’s plan entails keeping 51 percent of IPTO under the Greek State’s control. If the country’s creditors deem that the procedure is not progressing as planned, PPC will be forced to sell IPTO in its entirety.