Post-lignite plan to Boston Consulting, Grant Thorton

Boston Consulting and Grant Thorton have been awarded contracts by Greece’s privatization fund to prepare a master plan for Greece’s post-lignite era, due at the end of 2020, energypress sources have informed.

The two professional services companies, awarded deals totaling 200,000 euros plus VAT, will need to deliver a draft of their master plan to a coordinating committee heading the task around early autumn, three months after contracts have been signed.

Their finalized version must be completed and delivered six months from now, or roughly at the end of the year.

The master plan will include policies to tackle job losses as a result of Greece’s decarbonization policy, as well as policies for the establishment of new businesses and jobs in Greece’s west Macedonia and Megalopoli areas, both lignite-dependent local economies that will be severely impacted by the decarbonization plan.

Boston Consulting and Grant Thorton will need to analyze all related data, including  demographics and infrastructure-related data, and identify competitive advantages offered by the two aforementioned regions.

Industrial infrastructure, farming, research and innovation, tourism, logistics, energy and the environment, as well as social policies will all be examined for sustainable growth not requiring state support following the post-lignite transition.

Most of power utility PPC’s lignite units are expected to be phased out by the end of 2023.

PPC board set to adopt vital natural gas market entry plan

The main power utility PPC is expected to officially adopt a natural gas market entry and growth plan at a board meeting today with the aim of compensating for a shrinking electricity market presence.

PPC’s entry into the gas market is one of eleven strategic moves established following consulting firm advice from McKinsey, Boston Consulting and Samaras & Associates.

The power utility has lofty expectations from the plan, seen as one of its most vital and necessary market adjustments whose objective will be to partially or fully cover lost ground prompted by PPC’s bailout-required contraction in the retail electricity market and production.

In its report, McKinsey stresses that PPC needs to offer a wide range of energy services and products, including combined electricity and natural gas packages. The consulting firm believes the natural gas sector has the potential to represent approximately 70 percent of PPC’s total market value.

PPC’s initial objective will be to put a halt on shrinking sales before commencing its quest to regain lost ground.

Some 600,000 consumers are currently linked to Greece’s natural gas network while an annual growth rate of between 30,000 and 40,000 has been forecast for the next few years.