A recent decision by main power utility PPC to soon offer a 15 percent discount on electricity bills to customers with punctual payment records could slow down the dominant utility’s bailout-demanded market share reduction process and prompt the corporation’s partial sale.

According to a decision reached by the Government Council for Economic Policy (KYSOIP), PPC’s electricity market share must not exceed 87.24 percent by the end of the year, meaning that independent suppliers will need to have captured 12.76 percent, overall, if a partial sale of the utility is to be avoided.

Independent suppliers, who currently hold an 8.62 percent overall share of the electricity market, up from less than five percent at the beginning of the year, will need to capture an additional four percent by the end of the year if PPC is to avoid a partial sale.

During the latest bailout negotiations with international creditors, government officials managed to maintain a blurry picture on the prospect of a partial sale of PPC if the utility does not release its grip of the market fast enough. However, well-informed sector authorities assert that utility units, representing a 30 percent share, will go on sale if PPC fails to meet its market share reduction targets.

In comments offered to energypress, market officials noted that although PPC could initially benefit from the 15 percent discount offer, the move could ultimately spark the utility’s partial sale, a prospect its administration has maneuvered to avoid.

The upcoming NOME auctions plan, to provide third parties wth access to PPC’s low-cost lignite and hydropower sources as part of the bailout-related obligations intended to break the utility’s dominance, had been introduced as an alternative to PPC partial sale.