A new European Commission regulation concerning CATs came into effect a few days ago, on July 4, without any sign of support for the main power utility PPC’s prospective Ptolemaida V power station, now being developed but in danger of an unsustainable future.

The outgoing Syriza government’s energy ministry recently ratified a related bill believing this could ensure CAT eligibility for Ptolemaida V. But Brussels did not endorse the Greek CAT plan by the crucial July 4 date, and even more importantly, has not delivered any comfort letter that could be seen as notification for eventual approval.

According to the European Commission’s clean energy package, EU support mechanism subsidies are reserved for units whose CO2 emissions do not exceed 550 grams per KWh. Units beginning their commercial operations any time after the July 4 date and which exceed this upper limit are not entitled to CAT mechanism remuneration, according to the EU regulation.

In a recent letter to Margrethe Vestager, the European Commissioner for Competition, PPC’s chief executive Manolis Panagiotakis stressed that CAT eligibility is crucial for the sustainability of Ptolemaida V, a 1.4 billion-euro investment. Otherwise, PPC would face catastrophic consequences with a knock-on effect for the Greek energy market and national economy, given the role and size of the corporation, he added.