The main power utility PPC board’s members, unable to convene yesterday at the company headquarters, currently occupied by the Genop union, successfully staged a teleconference session to vote on a bailout-required split-and-sale plan, the power utility has announced.

Eight board members voted in favor of the plan, two members – both worker representatives – voted against the plan, while one member cast a blank vote.

The PPC board endorsed Pricewaterhouse Business Solutions as a consultant for the split and sale process. SOL SA was approved as the certified accountant to prepare related reports on the asset value and debt to be taken by new owners. The PPC board also agreed to appoint HSBC Bank as a financial consultant and DLA Piper UK as the power utility’s legal consultant for the disinvestment. KPMG has been selected as the procedure’s monitoring trustee for the European Commission.

Over the past few days, the Genop union had sought ways to stop yesterday’s PPC board meeting. The union is expected to take action during various crucial stages of the sale process over the next few weeks and months in an effort to trouble and delay the overall procedure. Genop has pledged it will prevent any new owners from operating the facilities up for sale.

The PPC power stations and mines included in the sale package represent 40 percent of the utility’s overall lignite capacity.

The board will need to convene again on May 23 to reendorse terms concerning the split of lignite units and related accounting matters, and, most importantly, launch the tender.

A PPC general shareholders’ meeting on June 26 is an obvious target date for the union. On this day, shareholders are scheduled to meet and endorse the split plan, establish statutes for two new subsidiaries – carrying the lignite units – to be offered to investors, and also endorse the representatives involved in the procedure.