Main power utility PPC board member Lazaros Stathakis has announced his resignation, citing his objection to the utility’s absorption of subsidiary firm PPC Renewables.

Stathakis, a chemical engineer with a non-PPC background – including posts in Brussels, representing both Greece and the European Commission, private-sector jobs, as well as an eight-month tenure at the Greek privatization fund TAIPED in 2015 – told fellow board members he is not convinced of the move’s necessity, adding it could end up hampering the corporation’s plans for further RES market penetration.

The PPC board approved the parent company’s absorption of PPC Renewables at yesterday’s meeting and described the initiative as vital for the corporation’s growth and investments in the renewable energy market.

According to a strategic plan prepared for PPC by the McKinsey consulting firm, the power utility will need to invest 700 million euros between 2018 and 2022 to secure 25 percent of new RES capacity, totalling approximately 615 MW, to be auctioned off by RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy.

Meanwhile, 220 retirement-age PPC employees still working at the power utility have been given an extra month, until January 31, 2019, to sign up for a voluntary retirement offer, including bonuses, the PPC board decided yesterday.