Certification needed by power grid operator IPTO to complete the sale of a 24 percent stake to SGCC’s (State Grid Corporation of China) is expected to be issued by RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, within the next ten-day period.

IPTO’s package of needed certificates must be assessed by March 31, a bailout-related deadline.

Two matters being examined by RAE – the first being the operator’s independence in its new life away from its parent company PPC, the main power utility, the other whether SGCC satisfies European Commission criteria – both appear unlikely to trouble the certification process.

Despite not acquiring a majority stake of IPTO, the Chinese company needs to meet certain EU criteria as a non-EU investor. SGCC has already been granted European certification as the Chinese company holds a stake in Portuguese energy company EDP, which simplifies IPTO’s task.