The newly elected center-right New Democracy government plans to take swift and radical action that will aim to remedy the financially pressured power utility PPC and ensure its sustainability and prospects, it became apparent following a meeting yesterday between Prime Minister-elect Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his energy minister Costis Hatzidakis.

The meeting, held to discuss matters at PPC, was Mitsotakis’ first with any of his cabinet members at his Prime Minister’s office, which highlights the emphasis he intends to place on the troubled power utility.

The rescue plan for PPC will benefit consumers as well as workers and offer new potential for the company, Hatzidakis, the new energy minister, stressed at the ministry’s handover ceremony.

The ND government will need to update the PPC rescue plan it had shaped as the main opposition party as the power utility’s condition appears to have deteriorated further in recent times.

An attempt to lure a strategic investor to PPC can only begin as a second stage   once the utility’s financial ambiguities and weaknesses have been improved.

PPC’s situation is complicated and does not only concern the government. The European Commission and its Directorate-General for Competition are also involved, while the privatization fund holds the power to appoint its administration.

Early measures to be taken by the new government will need to focus on improving the power utility’s ability to function.