New minister updated on IPTO by grid operator’s chief

A ten-year investment plan at IPTO, Greece’s Independent Power Transmission Operator, covering the period 2014 to 2023 and valued at 2.5 billion euros, was one of the key topics at a meeting held today between the country’s newly appointed Production Reconstruction, Environment and Energy Minister Panayiotis Lafazanis and the power grid operator’s chief executive Yiannis Giarentis.

The two officials, who met for the first time following last Sunday’s Greek elections, in what was described as a cordial session, also discussed IPTO’s financial standing and loans, as well as the interconnection project to link the Cyclades with the mainland grid, whose objective is to cover the electricity needs of the region’s islands.

Various problems had delayed the interconnection project’s tender, but these were overcome. The tender process was completed and work on the project has now begun.

Returning to IPTO, the country’s previous administration had launched a tender to privatize the power grid operator, a subsidiary firm of PPC, the Public Power Corporation, through the sale of a 66 percent stake. But the new left-wing Syriza-led government has already declared it will cancel the effort to privatize IPTO along with other plans involving the sale of PPC stakes.