Ministry dismisses SGCC hiring, pay relaxation request for IPTO

Energy ministry officials have reacted negatively to a request from State Grid International Development, a member of the corporate group State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC), for a relaxation of bailout-related recruitment and remuneration terms at power grid operator IPTO, in which the Chinese company is a strategic partner with a 24 percent stake.

An energy-sector draft bill delivered by the ministry includes a plan to relax hiring and remuneration restrictions at power utility PPC and distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO, a subsidiary.

These restrictions, resulting from a bailout term imposed on Greek public utilities, increase the Chinese investor’s risk and affect IPTO’s growth prospects, State Grid International Development has complained in a letter received this week by energy minister Costis Hatzidakis and other government officials.

The IPTO investment will be bleak if the Chinese company cannot select and remunerate staff under its own terms, in accordance with its interests, the letter noted.

The Chinese request will not be met, energy ministry officials told energypress, clarifying that a recent decision enabling a relaxation of hiring and payment terms concerns PPC as this utility faces treacherous financial conditions and needs to overcome competitive issues for survival.