Energy ministry officials and the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition are negotiating a new incentive plan for investors considering the main power utility PPC’s sale of its Meliti and Megalopoli power stations, part of a bailout-required disinvestment of lignite units, energypress sources have informed.

The two sides are distancing themselves from a previous Greek proposal offering prospective buyers a profit-and-loss sharing arrangement for the units and focusing on a new incentive model, the sources added.

The Meliti and Megalopoli power stations are loss-incurring, possible buyers have determined through due diligence.

Officials closely monitoring the negotiations informed the new model’s objective is to restrict expenses and increase revenues.

It is believed negotiations could conclude tomorrow, if all goes well, otherwise talks will continue into next week.

PPC is scheduled to stage a board meeting on December 20 to endorse the corporate group’s nine-month results and the sale and purchase agreement (SPA) terms, including incentives.

Binding offers by investors for the Meliti and Megalopoli units are scheduled to be submitted on January 7. If improved bids are requested, these will need to be submitted on January 10. Offers are planned to be appraised by PPC’s board a day later and, on January 15, the energy ministry will inform the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition on the disinvestment procedure’s results.

This is the official schedule. It remains to be seen if the plan will be adhered to. All will depend on whether investors will embrace the incentives now being discussed.