PPC terms for Larco to guide new tariff talks with other industrial producers

Two basic terms included in the main power utility PPC’s power supply agreement with troubled nickel producer Larco promise to guide new tariff negotiations between the power utility and other industrial producers, beginning next week.

Larco, for one of these two terms, has been offered a fixed high-voltage 2 tariff and, furthermore, a volume-based discount of 18 percent for consumption of up to 75 GWh per month, or 900 GWh annually. Fixed high-voltage 2 tariffs (YT2) are reserved for a small number of industrial enterprises.

PPC’s agreement with the ailing nickel producer offers temporary protection to the power utility against any new credit misadventures by Larco, owing over 300 million euros to PPC. Both companies are state-controlled.

PPC’s main concern is to ensure Larco’s ability to cover all its electricity consumption costs from now on, and, looking ahead, reduce its existing debt amount owed to PPC if market conditions, or nickel price levels, allow.

Demands faced by Larco, in its agreement with PPC, include the need to drastically reduce output, cover – on time – the full cost of electricity consumed on a monthly basis, provide letters of guarantee, and also supply PPC 24,000 tons of lignite extracted from its mines in Kozani, northern Greece, to cover power utility fuel needs at its Kardia and Amynteo power plants.