DEPA agrees to acquire stake in electricity supply firm

DEPA, the Public Gas Corporation, has reached an agreement with an electricity supply firm for the acquisition of a minority stake, according to a company source, and plans to make an official announcement of the deal within the next few days.

The gas corporation’s shareholders have approved DEPA’s entry into the retail electricity market and the administration is preparing to gain access through this agreement, the sources informed.

“This is a sector we’re not familiar with so we’re joining a company that knows the subject well,” the DEPA source remarked.

At the same time, DEPA is also moving ahead with a plan to take natural gas to the country’s major islands in order to supply power stations, following a memorandum signed with the main power utility PPC, and also deliver natural gas to household networks. Major private-sector foreign firms are believed to be interested in joining DEPA for the latter project.

DEPA sources also informed that the company will seek certification authorizing it as an investor in the hydrocarbon exploration domain, especially gas.

The sources expressed confidence that DEPA will not need to surrender stakes in the country’s regional EPA gas supply companies, as indicated Greek gas market reform developments. Certain revisions may be needed but DEPA will not abandon its subsidiaries, the sources added. DEPA currently holds 51 percent sstakes in the country’s EPA gas supply companies.

DEPA was honored yesterday by the Corporate Responsibility Institute (CRI) for the company’s services.

Speaking at the award ceremony, Theodoros Kitsakis, DEPA’s chief executive, remarked: “The belief that sustainability and entrepreneurship are not linked as concepts has been outdated for many years. The world’s largest businesses, having fully understood their roles and responsibilities, have taken care of integrating the concept of sustainability into their business strategy.”

Kitsakis stressed that DEPA, above all, is a “public utility”, a category demanding “model behavior and actions based on moral values, reciprocity, responsibility and positive contribution to society and the economy.”

DEPA serves 400,000 customers and strives to offer the lowest possible natural gas prices, Kitsakis noted. The corporation has constructed over 6,000 kilometers of gas networks and is planning to invest 235 million euros for the network’s further expansion to cover numerous provincial cities and towns, he added.