creditor representatives

Lenders pushing for far greater NOME auction power amounts

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The main power utility PPC is being pressured to offer significantly greater electricity amounts to the market through its  just-introduced NOME auctions, talks betwen the country’s representatives and government officials, as part of the bailout’s second review, have indicated.

Emerging from a meeting with the lenders yesterday, the recently appointed energy minister Giorgos Stathakis remained tight-lipped on the issue, limiting his comments to a “pending issue concerning the auctions” is being discussed.

According to energypress sources, the lenders want main power utility PPC to offer an accumulation of the electricity amounts agreed to for 2016 and 2017 through the NOME auctions to be held in 2017.

The bailout’s terms, requiring electricity auction amounts to be offered as a percentage of last year’s total consumption in Greece, set the annual proportions at 8 percent for 2016 (460 MWh) and 15 percent for 2017 (675 MWh).

However, the lenders are interpreting these terms differently. They are now demanding that a 23 percent proportion, the total of 2016 and 2017, or 1,135 MWh, be offered through the auctions next year. This essentially means that this year’s amount of 460 MWh, made available and absorbed last month through the inaugural NOME auction, will need to be offered for a second time in 2017.

Greek officials insist that the NOME auction terms include a clause requiring adjustments based on the degree to which market objectives have been met. The government officials have also questioned whether larger electricity amounts can be fully absorbed by the market’s players, noting that excess amounts could be exported to cause domestic market distortions.

The objective of the just-introduced NOME auctions is to provide third parties with access to PPC’s low-cost lignite and hydropower sources as a measure to help break the utility’s market dominance.

As for the auction starting price level, another issue raised by the lenders, it appears that the two sides have agreed to reexamine and reset the level once a year, every June, taking into account PPC’s cost-related data and the forward price for CO2 emission allowance prices.

A ministerial decision reached in September by the just-replaced energy minister Panos Skourletis, setting the NOME starting price at 37.37 euros, did not specify when and under what conditions this price level would be revised.

If CO2 emission allowance prices fall, as has been forecast, PPC, which is seeking to raise the NOME starting price level, will end up having to lower it instead. The utility has already filed its case at the Council of State, Greece’s Supreme Administrative Court. Asked yesterday about PPC’s legal initiative, Stathakis, the new energy minister, refused to comment.

The lenders expect RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, to deliver a schedule specifying the electricity quantities to be auctioned off in 2017 and the dates of auction sessions.

A second auction during the remainder of 2016 appears highly unlikely. The plan for 2017 will most likely be announced late next month. The first auction in 2017 is expected to be held within the first two months of the year.

 

Minister, lenders put further gas market measures on hold

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Further natural gas market reforms that could be needed will be considered at the end of 2017, Greece’s recently appointed energy minister Giorgos Stathakis and the country’s creditor representatives appear to have decided at a meeting held in Athens yesterday as part of the bailout’s second review.

Officials will first assess the overall impact on Greece’s natural gas market of a series of measures already made and to take effect January 1 before deciding on any further action.

These measures, part of the bailout agreement, include the gas market’s liberalization for all business-related consumption; a split of supply and distribution activities at the country’s three exisiting EPA gas supply respectively covering the respective wider Athens, Thessaloniki and Thessaly regions; and DEPA’s (Public Gas Corporation) increased gas release, the proportion of low-priced natural gas offered by the corporation through its annual auctions. All these steps are intended to generate market competition.

According to energypress sources, RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, possibly with assistance from a foreign-based consultant, has been given the task of preparing a study on the local gas grid’s needs.

The Government Council for Economic Policy (KYSOIP) will rely on this study’s results to prepare a road map of possible revisions overing the period between 2018 and 2020. The council’s study is expected to be delivered late in 2017.

Yesterday’s wait-and-see decision reached by the energy minister and the lenders puts on hold thoughts concerning a demand for DEPA to withdraw from the retail market. The corporation holds 51 percent stakes in the three regional EPA gas supply companies. Shell holds a 49% stake in the EPA supply company serving the wider Athens region, while the Italian multinational Eni holds 49% stakes in the Thessaloniki and Thessalia ventures.

Creditors, minister to discuss DEPA, NOME auctions today

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Greece’s recently appointed energy minister Giorgos Stathakis is scheduled to meet with the creditor representatives this afternoon for talks concerning pending energy-sector prior actions required for the bailout program’s second review.

The creditor representatives are set to depart from Athens tomorrow. Natural gas market reforms and NOME auction revisions for the electricity market are the two key issues that remain unresolved.

The creditors are applying pressure for DEPA, the Public Gas Corporation, to fully withdraw from Greece’s retail natural gas market. Creditor representatives believe that such a move could represent the compensation being sought by Shell and Eni for the premature loss of their regional monopolies.

DEPA, the Public Gas Corporation, holds majority 51 percent stakes in the country’s three existing EPA gas supply companies. Shell holds a 49% stake in the company serving the wider Athens region, while the Italian multinational Eni holds 49% stakes in the Thessalia and Thessaloniki ventures.

According to certain sources, the creditor representatives will push for a commitment by Greek officials concerning DEPA’s retail gas market withdrawal as a condition for the completion of the bailout’s second review.

As for the electricity market, the creditors want a more effective formula for the NOME auctions, introduced last month with the intention of providing third parties with access to main power utility PPC’s low-cost lignite and hydropower sources as a measure to help break the utility’s market dominance. More specifically, the creditors want the auction starting price to be lowered in December, based on new CO2 emission allowance prices.

Creditor doubts over NOME starting price could lower level

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The country’s creditor representatives, currently engaged in the second review of Greece’s bailout program, are pressuring Greek government officials to redetermine the NOME auction starting price.

However, contrary to the intentions of main power utility PPC, which has just declared it will endeavour to have the starting price level raised, claiming it does not cover the utility’s operating costs, this creditor demand will most likely lead to a price drop. Creditors want the starting price level reset once the European Energy Exchange sets, in December, the forward price for CO2 emmisions allowance prices. A price drop is anticipated at the exchange.

The creditors do not want to wait for PPC to present cost-related data, scheduled for March, before the NOME starting price is redetermined.

CO2 emmisions allowance prices and PPC’s cost-related data are the two factors that could lead to a revision of the NOME auction starting price set last month, at 37.37 euros per MWh, by local authorities.

Earlier this week, PPC officials implied the utility would build a case in order to persuade sector authorities to increase the NOME auctions starting price.

The NOME auctions, intended to provide third parties with access to PPC’s low-cost lignite and hydropower sources as a measure to help break the utility’s market dominance, were introduced last month.

The 37.37 euro per MWh starting price was set through a ministerial decision based on a price-setting formula provided by RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy.

If the creditor representatives have their way, the starting price is expected to drop to a level of around 32 euros per MWh. If so, independent electricity suppliers who ordered electricity amounts at last month’s inaugural NOME auction are likely to export these quantities and seek even lower prices at the next auction for supply to the local market.

The creditor representatives are also pressuring local officials for a NOME auction schedule, to be prepared by RAE, covering 2017. Auction dates and amounts to be offered will need to be specified in the plan.

A second NOME auctioned for 2016 is unlikely to be held. A November 15 date proposed by LAGIE, the Electricity Market Operator, responsible for the operation of the wholesale electricity market, has already gone by.

A NOME auction schedule for 2017 is most likely to be announced towards the end of December, as demanded by the lenders.

The electricity amount to be offered in 2017 is being disputed by the lenders and government officials. According to the current plan, PPC is obligated to offer 16 percent of total production in 2017, which works out to 675 MWh. The lenders want the 460 MWh quantity set for 2016 to be compounded onto the 2017 figure. This could unsettle the market as it is considered highly unlikely that such an amount can be absorbed.

 

 

 

Minister, lenders to focus on DEPA, PPC, DESFA today

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Talks scheduled for today between the country’s recently appointed energy minister Giorgos Stathakis and lenders, as part of the bailout’s second review, are expected to primarily focus on three issues – DEPA, the Public Gas Corporation, which the lenders want out of the retail market; the main power utility PPC and a demand by lenders for a 17 percent sale; as well as DESFA, the natural gas grid operator, whose long-running sale attempt by the government, offering a 66 percent stake, remains unfinished with a fortnight to go before the latest deadline extension expires.

DEPA, whose market conditions are rapidly changing, has already had its wholesale market monopoly broken while, as of next year, the corporation’s gas release – the proportion of low-priced gas supply offered through its annual auctions as a means of generating market competition – will begin increasing. Adding to the corporation’s strain, lenders now want the gas company to exit the retail market.

Though pundits believe the lenders will maintain an adamant stance on the effort to further liberalize Greece’s natural gas market because DEPA continues to hold a dominant position at all market levels, they also acknowledge it is legally unfeasible to force the corporation out of the retail market without any compensation, as was recently revealed. As the main shareholder of the country’s three EPA gas supply companies covering the wider Athens area, Thessaloniki and Thessalia, DEPA, which holds 51 percent stakes in all three ventures, has invested hundreds and millions of euros in infrastructure development over the past 15 years.

Shell holds a 49% stake in the EPA supply company serving the wider Athens region, while the Italian multinational Eni holds 49% stakes in the Thessaloniki and Thessalia operations.

DEPA must double its gas release from 10 percent this year to 20 percent by 2020, which would offer greater gas amounts to energy-intensive industries and traders.

Chipping away at DEPA’s dominance, Gazprom recently began selling to Greek enterprises directly through Promitheas Gas, a 50-50 joint venture established with the Copelouzos group, and not via DEPA, with which the Russian giant has signed an agreement for the supply of specific gas quantities. A take-or-pay clause, activated if DEPA’s annual orders fail to reach levels agreed to, remains valid until 2026.

Last summer, M&M, a wholesale trading venture involving the Mytilineos Group and Motor Oil Hellas, took the initiative to break DEPA’s hold on the market by importing gas loads via the Greek-Bulgarian border.

As for the demand by lenders concerning the sale of PPC’s 17 percent, Stathakis, the new energy minister, has yet to adopt an official position.

The DESFA sale will most probably be included on today’s agenda. A second deadline extension to a letter of guarantee provided by prospective buyer Socar expires on November 30. It remains unknown whether the Azerbaijani energy firm would be willing to offer a third extension if a deal is not reached by that date. The negotiating sides are at odds over the sale price. Socar officials contend DESFA’s market value has been reduced as a result of recent revenue-limiting measures imposed on the gas grid operator by Greece’s previous energy minister Panos Skourletis.

Socar, which emerged as the winning bidder of an international tender offering 66 percent of the Greek operator, is expected to transfer 30 percent to Italy’s Snam, should the deal go ahead. The European Commission eventually intervened demanding that the Azerbaijani company surrender at least 17 percent of DESFA to a certified European operator.

 

 

 

Pressure applied by lenders for PPC, DEPA sales in 2017

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The government’s sale of Greek State stakes in PPC, the main power utility, and DEPA, the Public Gas Corporation, has so far been avoided but this is unlikely to continue in 2017 as lenders seem to be linking the case with the completion of the bailout’s second review.

According to sources, energy-sector corporations, especially enterprises active in the electricity and natural gas markets, will need to be included in the next round of privatizations as a means of achieving the privatization revenues target for 2017.

The lenders, according to government sources, will push for the sale of a 17 percent share of PPC held by the Greek State, of 34 percent in total, and its 65 percent of DEPA.

These two sales and that of the Greek State’s share in the Athens International Airport are expected to provide the bulk of Greek privatization revenues in 2017, which, according to the lenders, have been set at roughly 2 billion euros. Preliminary steps, including the announcement of a recruitment procedure for consultants concerning the PPC and DEPA sales, will need to be made by the upcoming Eurogroup meeting on December 5.

A different schedule has been set for the establishment of the country’s new super privatization fund, whose completion and launch needs to be accomplished by the end of this year.

The Government Council for Economic Policy (KYSOIP) had endorsed an Asset Development Plan (ADP), containing 19 assets, last May. For months now, two troika officials placed on the board at TAIPED, Greece’s exisiting State Privatization Fund, have been pushing for the Asset Development Plan to move ahead. It was the cause of great friction between the lenders and Greece’s just-replaced energy minister Panos Skourletis.

The sale of PPC’s 17 percent will be particularly challenging as finding investors during the utility’s bailout-required need to reduce its market share to 49 percent by 2020 will not be easy. Investors are expected to consider investing in PPC once this procedure has been completed.

 

 

Lenders pressuring DEPA to leave retail natural gas market

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DEPA, the Public Gas Corporation, an energy-sector issue in the bailout’s current second review, is being pressured by the lenders to withdraw from Greece’s retail natural gas market, a development that would destabilize the corporation’s future and the prospect of widened natural gas use around Greece.

Thought this latest request is not a bailout prior action, government officials fear the lenders will apply relentless pressure.

Already forced to increase its gas release, the proportion of low-priced natural gas offered by DEPA through its annual auctions as a means of generating market competition, the corporation is under pressure to abandon its 51 percent stakes in Greece’s three existing regional EPA gas supply companies covering the wider Athens area, Thessaloniki and Thessalia, without compensation. This would effectively leave DEPA out of the retail market.

The lenders, especially the European Commisson, represented by its Senior Economist for Greece, Carlo Viviani, want DEPA to abandon its retail role as of January 1, 2017, when distribution and retail activities of gas companies in the country’s natural gas market need to be split. Sources said the lenders are pushing for this move to further liberalize the gas market.

Shell holds a 49% stake in the EPA supply company serving the wider Athens region, while the Italian multinational Eni holds 49% stakes in the Thessaloniki and Thessalia ventures.

This demand will surely prompt major legal issues as the public utility is being asked to abandon assets without any form of compensation. The prospect of expanding Greece’s natural gas network to parts of the country without access is also expected to be set back. The country’s role in prospective international gas transmission projects, through DEPA, would also be affected if the gas company’s role is diminished.

Regardless of this latest request by the lenders, DEPA needs to split its retail and distribution divisions at an administrative level.

 

Skourletis, lenders launch second review’s energy sector talks

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A number of issues are expected to be tabled at a meeting in Athens today between energy minister Panos Skourletis and creditor representatives, launching the start of the bailout program’s second review of energy prior actions.

The meeting was originally planned for last Friday but was rescheduled for today after the Greek minister reported feeling unwell.

Skourletis is expected to inform the creditor representatives on a decision reached just days ago by RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, to keep a RES-supporting ETMEAR surcharge unchanged for all consumer categories.

The lenders have requested RAE to review the progress made on the RES special account’s deficit every three months. If a lack of improvement is detected, then the ETMEAR surcharge appearing on electricity bills, a key source of revenue for the RES special account, will need to be revised accordingly.

Procedures concerning the Greek natural gas market’s liberalization are also on today’s agenda. The two sides appear to have reached a compromise deal on the amount of gas offered by DEPA, the Public Gas Corporation, to traders through its gas auctions. An agreement for a level of about 16 percent is believed to have been reached for 2017. However, other gas sector issues, such as regulatory matters and DEPA gas auction starting prices, still need to be sorted out.

Developments in the tender offering a 24 percent stake of IPTO, the power grid operator, will also be discussed. According to sources, no problems were encountered in the process entailing the submission of binding bids from potential buyers. The deadline expired on October 21. China’s State Grid International Development and Italy’s Terna submitted bids. These will be opened up and examined within the next few days. A prefered bidder will need to be announced next week or no later than October 31.

The proceedings at today’s inaugural NOME auction will also be discussed. Electricity traders were offered a total of 460 MW as the one and only package for 2016, launching an initiative to provide third parties with access to main power utility PPC’s low-cost lignite and hydropower sources as a measure to help break the utility’s market dominance.

Procedures concerning the target model, local revisions based on a European framework for an intergrated EU energy sector, will also be tabled today.

A series of preliminary meetings by officials prior to today’s session have been purely informative, sources said. No stumbling blocks were encountered during these preliminary talks. However, this does not guarantee a trouble-free ride towards the completion of the second review’s energy prior actions.

Energy prior actions for second bailout review off to mild start

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Energy ministry officials have begun talks, at a technical level, not political, with creditor representatives for prior actions needed as part of the second review of Greece’s bailout program.

These early talks are still at an informative stage. Though no obstacles are anticipated down the road, a trouble-free process cannot be guranteed.

Besides a decision to be reached today by RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, on the RES-supporting ETMEAR surcharge, expected to slightly increase for energy-intensive industries and fall for households, a variety of other issues are on the agenda.

These include gas market’s liberalization procedures. Issues such as DEPA (Public Gas Corporation) gas auction starting prices still need to be determined following a gas release decision, or increased gas amounts to be offered by the corporation to traders through its auctions. Also, procedures concerning the division of distribution and supply activities, as well as DEPA’s role in the country’s new natural gas market being developed, need to be addressed.

Developments concerning an international tender for the sale of a 24 percent stake of IPTO, the power grid operator – the deadline for binding bids expires tomorrow – are also on the agenda.

So, too, are the NOME auctions, scheduled to be launched on October 25 with a 460 MW package to be offered to suppliers. The NOME auctions are intended to provide third parties with access to PPC’s low-cost lignite and hydropower sources as a measure to help break the utility’s market dominance and reduce its market share to less than 50 percent by 2019.

 

 

 

IPTO tax hurdle cleared as part of effort to push ahead with sale

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The order of proceedings for power grid operator IPTO’s split from parent company PPC, the main power utility, and sale of a 24 sale stake to a strategic investor has been reshuffled following an amendment submitted to Greek Parliament by the Environment and Energy Ministry and ratified just days ago.

Prior to the amendment, the procedure entailed forming a holding company before offering a 24 percent stake of IPTO to strategic investors. This order has now been switched over as a result of a tax-related issue at the operator.

Though this hurdle is believed to be manageable, the IPTO sale process faces tough bailout deadlines. Authorities need to keep it moving ahead at a relentless pace.

The procedure leading to the formation of the holding company requires PPC and IPTO to prepay a considerable tax amount worth between 50 million and 60 million euros. However, revisions being made will enable PPC and IPTO to avoid the tax deposit payment at this stage.

Certain officials believe that other serious issues will also need to be dealt with before the country’s lenders decide whether the IPTO sale effort is making satisfactory progress during the bailout’s next assessment, in October.

Despite the possible emergence of various issues, the lenders will keep their appraisal’s criteria focused on Greece’s effort to sell 24 percent of IPTO to a strategic investor.

The IPTO sale plan, proposed by the current Greek administration as an alternative to its predecessor’s effort to sell 66 percent of the operator, also entails offering 25 percent to investors through the bourse and transferring 51 percent from PPC to the Greek State. Failure of the current plan would prompt the lenders to demand IPTO’s full privatization.

Prospective bidders for IPTO’s 24 percent – Italy’s Terna, France’s RTE and China’s State Grid, the three operators through to the second stage of an international tender – will need to submit binding bids by mid-October. A precise date has yet to be announced. A preferred bidder must be announced by October 31, as required by the bailout agreement, but a slight extension of a few days could be offered if the bids are deemed too low by PPC, which would then request improved offers.

Snam officials in Athens this week for vital DESFA sale talks

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Top-ranked officials at Italian company Snam, a key player in the effort to finalize the stranded privatization of DESFA, Greece’s natural gas grid operator, will visit Athens this week for talks, it has been confirmed.

Snam appears to have agreed to take on a 17 percent share of DESFA from Azerbaijani energy firm Socar following European Commission intervention. This would reduce Socar’s share of DESFA to 49 percent, if the deal is completed.

Brussels has issued a decision specifying that Socar, the winning bidder of a DESFA tender completed in 2013, must remain a minority shareholder of the Greek operator.

The Italian company’s role in the deal has acquired greater significance as a result of the increased likelihood of a withdrawal by Socar. The Azerbaijani company is dissatisfied by a network usage fee hike limitation recently imposed on DESFA by the energy ministry. The measure reduces the operator’s revenue potential.

Snam officials are expected to make clear the Italian operator’s position at the upcoming Athens meeting. Snam did not demand that the revenue-limiting measure be anulled when company representatives first met with Greek energy ministry officials over the DESFA sale about two months ago. This offers a glimmer of hope for the troubled deal.

Greece’s lenders, currently engaged in a review of bailout prior actions needed for the  disbursement of a subtranche of 2.8 billion euros, are applying pressure for an end to the long-running DESFA sale.

Snam could take on a greater share of the operator, roughly 30 percent, while ELPE (Hellenic Petroleum) appears keen to maintain the 35 percent stake it holds in DESFA.

Belgian operator Fluxys, which had expressed an interest in DESFA in the past, may also enter the picture again.

Negotiators to aim for energy prior action solutions this week

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Greek officials and the country’s creditor representatives, currently engaged in bailout review negotiations, believe that certain disagreements between the two sides over outstanding energy-sector prior actions can be resolved this week.

Completion of the prior actions will pave the way for the disbursement of a subtranche of 2.8 billion euros.

Energy Minister Panos Skourletis did not join a team of ministry associates as well as finance minister Euclid Tsakalotos during Friday’s negotiations with the lenders.

The negotiating sides will push for settlement of the outstanding energy-related prior actions by the end of this week. The overall progress made in the bailout review is expected to influence the energy-related developments.

The outstanding issues include natural gas market reforms. A gas release obligation requires DEPA (Public Gas Corporation) to double the amount of natural gas made available to the industrial sector as well as suppliers to help liberalize the market. A documentation process is now in progress.

Another issue is the renewable energy (RES) special account’s deficit, which will impact the RES-supporting ETMEAR surcharge included on electricity bills. Recently ratified legislation has been designed to eliminate the account’s deficit by the end of 2017. However, the lenders want this deficit to be wiped out at an earlier date, by June, 2017. A decision by RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, on the surcharge level will need to take this demand into account.

As for the troubled privatization effort concerning DESFA, the natural gas grid operator, the lenders are pushing for the nullification of a recent amendment that severely limits the operator’s network usage fee hikes and, therefore, revenue potential. The lenders have noted the move has negatively impacted this privatization attempt. Azerbaijani energy company Socar, the winning bidder in an international tender for the DESFA sale, has threatened to withdraw, noting the amendment has reduced the company’s market value.

 

 

Greek officials looking for alternative gas market options

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Greek government officials will seek to table an alternative proposal to the country’s creditor representatives for a comprehensive plan that could fully liberalize Greece’s natural gas market with openings for new suppliers. Talks aiming to settle pending energy-sector prior actions required by the bailout agreement will continue today.

The country’s lenders are pushing for a Greek commitment to a substantial increase of gas amounts auctioned off by DEPA, Public Gas Corporation, for suppliers, the objective being to break regional monopolies maintained by the corporation’s EPA gas supply subsidiaries. Although not formally stated, the creditors want a doubling of the gas release.

Greece’s energy ministry has argued that a major increase in the gas offered by DEPA through its auctions would inevitably devastate the corporation, controlled by the Greek State with a 65 percent stake. This concern has prompted a search for alternative paths towards the Greek gas market’s full liberalization.

Greek officials contend that gas release arrangements elsewhere in Europe do not demand that gas amounts offered by utilities to wholesalers and suppliers, through auctions, exceed 10 percent of overall supply. Denmark is the exception, while the figures in other European countries range between 5 and 7 percent. Greece’s lenders have called for a 20 percent figure.

DEPA’s destabilization would cause wider problems of geopolitical dimension in Greece’s energy plans. DEPA is participating in major infrastructure projects such as the IGB Greek-Bulgarian Interconector, a key part of the EU’s energy security policy, to be achieved through greater diversification.

The Greek government is expected to table its alternative gas market liberalization proposal during today’s talks. Alternatives could involve the establishment of new markets, including spot markets, as well as a percentage reduction of the industrial sector’s involvement in the gas auctions and greater participation rights for suppliers.

This latter option would certainly spark strong protest from the industrial sector.

Lenders push for stranded DESFA deal’s finalization

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Greece’s lenders are pushing for the completion, as soon as possible, of an unfinished deal between DESFA, the natural gas grid operator, and Azerbaijani energy company Socar, the winning bidder of an international tender in 2013 offering a 66 percent stake in DESFA.

Declan Costello, the head of the European Commission’s mission to Greece, met yesterday with the country’s energy minister Panis Skourletis, who responded to the request for swift completion of the deal by noting that Greece has never opposed this privatization.

The intentions of Socar, repelled by a recent revenue-restricting measure imposed on DESFA by the Greek energy ministry, remain unknown. A letter of guarantee provided by Socar expires at the end of this month.

The Azerbaijanis have indicated that a substantial reduction to the deal’s initial price tag, 400 million euros for a 66 percent stake, is needed if Socar is to remain interested.

The Greek government, as was pointed out to the creditor representatives yesterday, insists that the revenue-restricting measure was implemented to protect consumers from hefty gas price hikes and that it will not budge on the 400-million euro price it originally agreed to.

According to sources, Greek officials yesterday declared they are ready to meet with Socar officials and explore ways of finalizing the stranded deal. For the time being, communication between the two sides is limited to exchange through media reports.

Prior to the recent Greek DESFA-related revisions, the European Commission, acting last year, decided that Socar must surrender 17 percent of DEFSA’s 66 percent to a European operator, reducing the stake the Azerbaijani firm would acquire to 49 percent.

It is now believed that a further reduction could help finalize the deal. In this case, Italy’s Snam, believed to have agreed to take on the surrendered 17 percent stake, would end up with a greater share. ELPE (Hellenic Petroleum), which holds a 35 percent stake in DESFA, appears willing to maintain this share. The Greek government endorses this stance.

 

 

Energy sector prior action talks with creditors start today

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The bailout agreement’s second review of outstanding energy-sector prior actions begins today with a series of meetings between creditor representatives and local officials representing Greece’s energy ministry, RAE (Regulatory Authority for Energy), DEPA (Public Gas Corporation), PPC (Public Power Corporation) and other energy-sector enterprises.

Today’s meetings will serve as a lead-up to a meeting scheduled for tomorrow between energy minister Panos Skourletis and the creditor representatives. Greek energy-sector officials are confident the review procedures will be completed swifly and successfully.

A meeting that took place in Brussels last week between European Commission officials and the energy minister’s leading aid, Demosthenes Papastamopoulos, accompanied by DEPA’s chief executive Theodoros Kitsakos, appears to have set solid ground for today’s talks.

A gas release obligation – requiring DEPA to double, through its auctions, the amount of natural gas made available to the industrial sector as well as suppliers, at weighted average cost prices, plus operational costs – is believed to be the only pending issue. Greece needs to open up the wholesale gas market to competition. The DEPA auction changes are a basic tool for this bailout requirement.

All other outstanding energy-sector bailout prior actions such as obligations concerning the upcoming NOME auctions, revisions to the renewable energy sector-supporting ETMEAR surcharge, as well as a draft bill for the Target Model – a road map to guide Greece through a series of reforms needed as part of the EU’s wider effort to establish an integrated European energy market – are expected to be quickly settled. The government has already taken action on the work required, concerning certain technical details and time schedules.

 

 

TAIPED to seek consultants for PPC, DEPA, ELPE privatizations

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TAIPED, the State Privatization Fund, is preparing to hire consultants and proceed with 19 privatizations which the government has endorsed but since taken a step back from in light of its effort to finalize an agreement with the country’s creditors for completion of bailout prior actions by the end of September

In recent times, the energy ministry has contended that the privatizations are based on agreements reached by preceding administrations, while suggesting it would prefer alternative paths. The privatizations include 17 percent of PPC, the main power utility, 65 percent of DEPA, the Public Gas Corporation, and 35 percent of ELPE, Hellenic Petroleum.

Energy minister Panos Skourletis has been at odds with TAIPED chief Stergios Pitsiorlas over the privatizations. Skourletis has sought to revise the energy-related privatizations through a new super-privatization fund in the making, which would demote TAIPED as a subsidiary and generally seek to utilize assets rather than sell.

Despite the conflict, the energy ministry is believed to be temporarily holding back from pushing for its alternative plan concerning PPC, DEPA and ELPE. The ministry considers the current period inappropriate for any controversy as the government’s effort to finalize the prior actions agreement with creditors by the end of September, now on the right track, would be endangered.

An exact starting date for the international tenders to seek consulting firms for the PPC, DEPA and ELPE partial privatizations has yet to be announced. However, a date following September is expected to be set. The country’s creditors, represented by two officials at the TAIPED board, have been pushing for the matter to proceed.

Energy ministry officials believe that even if consultants were recruited now, the tenders for the three energy companies would stand no chance of being launched within 2017, possibly even 2018. In the meantime, the ministry anticipates it will build its case for its prefered alternative plans, hoping these could be at least partially adopted.

One of these plans could entail the eventual scrapping of the sale of PPC’s 17 percent as the utility’s current troubled state – including a severe cash flow problem attributed to an alarming level of unpaid receivables as well as a bailout requirement for a drastic market share reduction from 90 percent, at present, to 49 percent by 2019 – is not an enticing prospect for investors. Given PPC’s woes, the current controversy over whether the utility’s 17 percent stake should be privatized or not is more a political battle than one of substance.

On the other hand, the energy ministry’s hesitation to firmly state its case right now for privatization revisions may well be the result of an outright rejection, at any point along the timeline, by the country’s creditors

 

Battle looming as gov’t plans to revise energy privatizations

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The government’s intention to renegotiate Greece’s list of energy-sector privatizations could end up igniting a major feud with the country’s lenders.

As previously reported by energypress, energy minister Panos Skourletis has already presented his revised plan for Greek energy-sector privatizations to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

Although the plan’s proposals have yet to be officially presented to the lenders by the government, lender sources, interviewed by Greek daily Ta Nea, were quoted as saying that no changes would be accepted.

The lender sources, in the interview, pointed out that one “cannot receive a bailout tranche in June based on the presentation of a specific privatization plan and then change one’s mind in September”.

Last May, Greek officials fought hard with the country’s lenders to avoid the sale of strategically important public companies, but were unsuccessful.

Amid the wider picture, it has become obvious that the country’s lenders and energy minister are already engaged in a tug-of-war over Greece’s energy-sector privatizations.

The country’s energy ministry is seeking to remove energy companies from Greece’s wider privatization plan, while the lenders, according to energypress sources, have been pushing for swifter progress.

The inclusion of main power utility PPC’s 17 percent privatization on TAIPED’s (State Privatization Fund) publicized list of prospective privatizations highlights the pressure being applied by the lenders. They want  action on this sale within 2016.

In addition, for quite some time now, Greece’s lenders appear to have asked TAIPED, a fund at odds with the government, to hire consultants for upcoming tenders, including ones for PPC, DEPA (Public Gas Corporation) and ELPE (Hellenic Petroleum).

The Greek State currently holds a 51.12 percent stake in PPC, controls 65 percent of DEPA – the other 35 percent is owned by ELPE – and owns 35.5 percent of ELPE.

It remains to be seen whether the Greek government will go all the way and choose to engage in a battle with the country’s lenders over the make-up of the privatizations list during the next review, needed for the approval and release of the third bailout’s next tranche.

Also unknown are the specifics of the response from lenders when they are officially presented with Greece’s revised privatizations list, as is anticipated.

Besides the exclusion of DESFA, Greece’s natural gas grid operator – whose long-running tender appears doomed to fail as a letter of guarantee provided by potential buyer Socar expires at the end of September amid a stalemate situation – the government can be expected to also fight for the removal of PPC, DEPA and ELPE from the current privatizations list.

Failure to sell 66 percent of DESFA to Socar will certainly prompt questions from the country’s lenders, who expect 188 million euros from the sale’s 400 million-euro price to be channelled to TAIPED.

The long-running DESFA tender was launched by Greece’s previous administration and completed in 2013. The European Commission eventually demanded that Socar surrender 17 percent to a certified European operator. Most recently, Skourletis, Greece’s energy minister, limited the operator’s ability to increase network usage fees, and, therefore, its revenue potential. This move did not go down well with Azeri officials.

Also, the government is planning to establish a new super-privatizations fund which would demote TAIPED as a subsidiary.

 

Bailout terms for IPTO sale could not be clearer

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The third bailout agreement’s recent additions could not be clearer on the future of IPTO, the power grid operator, main power utility PPC’s wholly owned subsidiary, for which a strategic investor will need to be found within the year to take on at least a 20 percent share. According to the plan, the Greek State will acquire a 51 percent share, while the remainder will be offered to investors through the bourse.

The bailout’s IPTO breakaway plan underlines that if the international creditors conclude that satisfactory progress is not being made, especially on the effort to find a strategic investor, then IPTO will be fully privatized in 2017. In the latter case, dreaded by the Greek government, a tender will need to be announced by this coming October.

The revised bailout terms also specify that PPC’s wholesale and retail electricity market shares must be reduced by 20 percent until 2017 and reach less than than 50 percent by 2020. As part of the effort, NOME auctions will be introduced in September. The inaugural session will offer independent traders an electricity amount equivalent to eight percent of the total used in the grid in 2015.

Also in June, the Greek State, PPC’s majority shareholder, will authorize the utility to offer flexible, cost-based tariffs for the industrial sector at a PPC general shareholders meeting on June 30.

Greek lawmakers must ratify, by the end of the month, a revision to a RES-supporting ETMEAR surcharge included on electricity bills to ensure the RES special account’s sustainability and protect exisiting RES tariff levels. The RES special account’s existing deficit will need to be eliminated within twelve months, or no later than June, 2017.

Also natural gas market revisions, including new tariffs for network distribution and transport, measures securing increased natural gas amounts offered at the DEPA (Public Gas Corporation) auctions and increased access for independent suppliers, must also be made.

Majority of energy issues must be settled by end of June

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The Greek government has just two weeks to complete at least eleven pending energy-related issues, according to the country’s revised bailout agreement, whose details were published yesterday, highlighting just how crucial and relentless the current month is for the reforms effort.

The bailout agreement’s section on the energy sector notes that “extensive reforms are needed for Greece’s energy market to adopt EU directives, become more modern and competitive, without monopolies and ineffectiveness, achieve greater RES and natural gas penetration, and pass on these benefits to consumers.”

Main power utility PPC, whose prospective reduced market dominance is a key aspect of Greece’s needed energy reforms, will need to make official by the end of June a bailout-required plan entailing the sale of at least 20 percent of its subsidiary form IPTO, the power grid operator, to a strategic investor. A tender will then need to be launched in July and a prefered strategic investor announced within October.

Should this plan fail to make progress, Greek authorities will be forced to announce, in October, a deadline for offers leading to the full sale of IPTO. This alternative tender, dreaded by the government, would need to be completed by December to enable the full privatization of IPTO within 2017.

In another measure intended to lessen PPC’s dominance, NOME auctions, to provide third parties with access to the utility’s low-cost lignite and hydropower sources, are scheduled to be launched in September. Independent traders will be offered an electricity amoung equivalent to eight percent of the total used in the grid in 2015. The objective is to reduce PPC’s wholesale and retail electricity market shares by 20 percent until 2017. These respective market shares will need to have contracted to less than 50 percent by 2020.

Fast action is also needed on new natural gas network usage fees which DESFA, the natural gas grid operator, will need to submit to RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy.

By the end of June, PPC will need to have completed negotiations with energy-intensive industrial consumers for new individualized agreements. The Greek State, PPC’s majority shareholder, will authorize the utility to offer flexible, cost-based tariffs for the industrial sector at a PPC general shareholders meeting on June 30.

Greek officials will also need to forward a permanent CAT mechanism plan to the European Commission within June.

New legal framework for the RES sector will need to be ratified in Greek Parliament by the end of this month.

Also by the end of June, Greek lawmakers must ratify a revised RES-supporting ETMEAR surcharge included on electricity bills to ensure the RES special account’s sustainability. Its deficit will need to be eliminated within twelve months, or no later than June, 2017.

PPC and LAGIE, the Electricity Market Operator, will need to settle their debt differences by the end of June.

Energy tax revisions and natural gas market revisons must also be finalized by the end of the month.

PPC discount offer could spark sale of corporation units

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A recent decision by main power utility PPC to soon offer a 15 percent discount on electricity bills to customers with punctual payment records could slow down the dominant utility’s bailout-demanded market share reduction process and prompt the corporation’s partial sale.

According to a decision reached by the Government Council for Economic Policy (KYSOIP), PPC’s electricity market share must not exceed 87.24 percent by the end of the year, meaning that independent suppliers will need to have captured 12.76 percent, overall, if a partial sale of the utility is to be avoided.

Independent suppliers, who currently hold an 8.62 percent overall share of the electricity market, up from less than five percent at the beginning of the year, will need to capture an additional four percent by the end of the year if PPC is to avoid a partial sale.

During the latest bailout negotiations with international creditors, government officials managed to maintain a blurry picture on the prospect of a partial sale of PPC if the utility does not release its grip of the market fast enough. However, well-informed sector authorities assert that utility units, representing a 30 percent share, will go on sale if PPC fails to meet its market share reduction targets.

In comments offered to energypress, market officials noted that although PPC could initially benefit from the 15 percent discount offer, the move could ultimately spark the utility’s partial sale, a prospect its administration has maneuvered to avoid.

The upcoming NOME auctions plan, to provide third parties wth access to PPC’s low-cost lignite and hydropower sources as part of the bailout-related obligations intended to break the utility’s dominance, had been introduced as an alternative to PPC partial sale.

 

 

 

Greece given one month less to find IPTO strategic investor

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The Greek government is facing increased time pressure on the plan to split the country’s power grid operator IPTO from parent company PPC, the main power utility, and, as a result, will be given one month less to complete the sale of an IPTO stake of between 20 and 25 percent to a strategic investor. The deadline has now been shifted to the end of October from the end of November.

Legislation had specified Greece would be offered a period of five months after PPC’s general shareholders meeting, scheduled for the end of June, to finalize the sale of an IPTO stake to a strategic investor. This period has now been reduced to four months.

Though the revisions to the IPTO procedure make no specific reference for a switch to full privatization should the Greek proposal not make progress, they do note that the current plan stands as an alternative to IPTO’s full privatization as it promises to produce equivalent results in terms of competition and prospective investments.

The Greek plan entails transferring 51 percent of IPTO from PPC to the Greek State by the end of June, followed by the placement of about 25 percent of the grid operator on the bourse and the sale of the rest to a strategic investor.

Revisions made also note that PPC will need to have received a report from an international appraiser no later than two weeks after strategic investors have submitted binding offers for the IPTO stake.

No revisions have been made to terms included in the NOME auction plan, intended to provide third parties with access to PPC’s low-cost lignite and hydropower sources as part of the bailout-related obligation to help break the utility’s dominance. The first auction will need to be staged by the end of September.

In 2016, PPC must auction off an electricity amount representing eight percent of electricity used in the grid in 2015. This figure will be increased to 12 percent for 2017 and 13 percent for 2018 and 2019.

Government, creditors seeking common ground for IPTO plan

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Despite some sense of panic generated yesterday, government officials and the country’s creditor representatives appear committed to finding a commonly acceptable solution for power grid operator IPTO’s breakaway from parent company PPC, the main power utility.

Greek officials have confirmed that the creditors tabled a request seeking “automatic procedures” leading to IPTO’s full privatization in the event that the Greek breakway plan fails to proceed according to schedule.

The plan entails transferring 51 percent of IPTO from PPC to the Greek State by the end of June, followed by the placement of 25 percent of the grid operator on the bourse and sale of the other 24 percent to a strategic investor.

Energy ministry sources yesterday ascertained that an amendment facilitating the “automatic procedures” requested by the international creditors would not be made, adding that the government has already met the IPTO-related demands of creditors and will not accept any unreasonable demands.

Although the two sides yesterday momentarily appeared to have been involved in a flare-up over IPTO, both now seem focused on finding common ground, which is expected soon. The government wants any suggestions of a full privatization of IPTO to be scrapped, while the creditors want protection should the complicated Greek plan fail to come through.

Greek officials believe the creditors will offer some leniency if the IPTO plan shows firm signs of progress but falls behind schedule by a few months.

IPTO split, NOME auctions, temporary CATs on superbill

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Legislation amendments for the power grid operator IPTO’s split from parent company PPC, the main power utility, as well as the introductions of NOME-type auctions and a transitional CAT mechanism to compensate power stations for production, will be included in a bailout-related superbill headed to Greek Parliament today ahead of ratification this coming Sunday.

These measures need to be legislated prior to the next Eurogroup meeting on May 24 as part of the effort to complete the first review of Greece’s third bailout deal.

According to energypress sources, no changes have been made to the drafts prepared for the IPTO and NOME auction plans, compared to the content leaked just days ago. Also, the temporary CAT mechanism’s draft is identical to the plan proposed by the Greek government and endorsed by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition.

Previous laws for the IPTO and NOME auctions will be nullified along with the ratification of the amendments.

NOME auctions will provide third parties with access to PPC’s low-cost lignite and hydropower sources as part of the bailout-related obligation to help break the utility’s dominance.

As part of the IPTO breakaway plan, PPC shareholders will need to approve the sale of at least a 20 percent share to a strategic investor. A tender for strategic investor offers will need to begin this June, while the selection process must be completed a few months later, by October.

If Greece’s international lenders deem the IPTO plan’s progress in 2016 as unsatisfactory, especially on matters concerning the choice of a strategic investor, then the Greek State will need to set a date for the submission of binding offers pertaining to the sale of PPC’s entire stake in IPTO, in other words 100 percent.

The NOME plan, based on a French model, is expected to lead to a 20 percent reduction of PPC’s wholesale and retail market shares by 2017 followed by a further decline, below 50 percent, by 2020.

The temporary CAT mechanism approved by Brussels will be valid for 12 months and will not apply retroactively. The mechanism’s cost for the 12-month period is 225 million euros. Producers will be compensated 45,000 euros per MW. The mechanism’s one-year duration will only be fully utilized in the event that the permanent plan is not introduced sooner. Progress on the replacement plan is believed to be moving along slowly, meaning that the temporary CAT plan, once launched, will almost definitely run for its full one-year duration.

 

IPTO, NOME, RES, target model laws needed over next 45 days

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Unlike the slow pace of wider energy-sector developments until now, the next few weeks, based on the current schedule, are expected to provide a whirlwind of activity as a result of EU and bailout commitments. Legislation will need to be ratified by the end of June for four sector reforms – the power grid operator IPTO’s split from main power utility PPC, the parent company; NOME auctions; new support mechanism for the renewable energy sources (RES) sector; and the electricity market’s target model.

The draft laws will be submitted to Parliament for ratification either separately, as pairs, or as attachments to other legislative actions.

Two of these energy-sector measures, the IPTO split from PPC, and the NOME auctions – to provide third parties with access to PPC’s low-cost lignite and hydropower sources with the intention of breaking the utility’s dominance – are among the requirements that need to be fulfilled if the current first review of Greece’s third bailout is to be finalized. This means the measures will need to be legislated prior to the next Eurogroup meeting on May 24. As a result, it is highly likely that the IPTO and NOME measures will be included in a multi-bill carrying all pending bailout requirements to be submitted to Greek Parliament by Sunday week, the latest.

Existing laws linked to Greece’s bailout agreement that concern a previous part-privatization plan for PPC – locally dubbed “Little PPC” – and an older plan to privatize 66 percent of IPTO, will both be nullified as part of the latest process.

As for the other two measures – electricity market’s target model and the RES support mechanism – the energy ministry intends to forward both for public consultation by the end of May before submitting respective draft laws to Parliament by the end of June, assuming no obstacles delay this schedule.

Based on the new plan, once the new law for IPTO is ratified, PPC’s shareholders will need to approve the sale of at least a 20 percent share of the utility to a strategic investor. A tender, through which a strategic investor will be chosen, will need to be launched this July and completed by October.

The new law to regulate the NOME auctions, based on a French model, will stipulate that 20 percent of PPC’s wholesale and retail electricity market shares must be shed by 2017 before they fall to levels of less than 50 percent by 2020. PPC is expected to stage its first NOME auction in September, offering electricity amounts to independent traders measuring eight percent of the total amount supplied to the grid in 2015.

Lenders demand NOME auctions in 2016, tight plan

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Greece’s agreement with international lenders, required to conclude the first review of the country’s third bailout package, contains no surprises concerning the plan to split IPTO, the power grid operator, from its parent company PPC, the main power utility, judging by a text leaked yesterday.

However, the tight schedule being demanded for the NOME-type auctions – to provide third parties with access to main power utility PPC’s low-cost lignite and hydropower sources as part of the bailout-related obligation to help break the utility’s dominance – is a newsworthy disclosure.

The agreement, according to the leaked text, demands that the first NOME auction be held this coming September. Within 2016, the process will be expected to offer participants, or independent suppliers, the equivalent of eight percent of the total amount of electricity used in the interconnected power grid during 2015.

The total amount consumed in 2015, according to data provided by IPTO, reached 51,430 GWh, which means that 4,114 GWh will need to be offered through the NOME auctions within 2016. As such, PPC must commit roughly 1,400 MW of its lignite and hydropower capacity as soon as the procedure is launched.

The agreement specifies that the NOME plan’s objective will be to decrease PPC’s wholesale and retail electricity market shares by 20 percent within 2017 and to 50 percent by 2020.

As for the IPTO split plan, it is expected to be completed by the end of this year. A draft bill on the plan will need to be ratified this month, while, in July, PPC’s shareholders must endorse the sale of at least 20 percent of the subsidiary firm to a strategic investor. The prefered investor will be selected in October, according to the IPTO plan.

Should the lenders determine that this schedule’s deadlines concerning the sale of a stake to a strategic investor are not honored, then the Greek State, will need to announce, in October, a date for the submission of binding offers for the sale of all of IPTO’s equity by this December.

IPTO plan can still be derailed by ‘dangerous curves’ ahead

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Despite the fact that the Greek government and the country’s lenders, with guidance from independent consulting firms, are moving ahead with a plan established to split IPTO, the power grid operator, from the main power utility PPC and transfer stakes to the Greek state and private investors, certain critical issues – described to energypress by an official closely following developments as “dangerous bends on the road map laid out” – remain unresolved.

Two crucial details still need to be addressed. Firstly, the lenders need to reach a final conclusion as to whether the solution being planned is truly sustainable, which, it is anticipated, would lead to its endorsement at an upcoming euroworking group. Secondly, an agreement needs to be reached by Greece and its lenders on a realistic schedule, one that will not cause delays, which could prompt the retabling of thoughts, by the lenders, to privatize IPTO in its entirety.

Following their meeting earlier this week with the consulting firms hired for the matter – Lazard, Sol, and Norton – the country’s lenders now hold in their hands a virtually finalized proposal for IPTO.

Certain technical issues remain, ones primarily concerning taxation and accounting matters, to be further examined by the consulting firms. The country’s lenders are expected to have finalized proposals on these by tomorrow.

Then, the country’s lenders will need to decide on their final proposal by this coming Tuesday. If all goes well here, then the euroworking group’s decision on April 22 will be positive.

Greek officials expect this to be the most likely outcome, but nothing can be ruled out until the technical teams representing the lenders have fully analyzed the details of proposals made by the consulting firms. It should be noted that lender technical team representatives, who had been given the basic details of the consulting firm proposals when they met with Greek officials earlier this week, were in a constructive mood. No obstacles were reported, an encouraging sign that the plan will proceed.

Following euroworking group approval, the Greek government and lenders will, by the end of April, need to draft a final version of the agreement to take effect between the Greek State and lenders. Deadlines will be included in this text.

Negotiations on the procedure’s scheduling are expected to be tough. The lenders are expected to push for tight deadlines with the aim of getting as much done within 2016, or even finalizing the sale within 2016. According to sources, lenders have already asked for an official announcement of the IPTO sale to be made in June. On the other hand, the Greek government prefers a more relaxed schedule, which it believes is more realistic. This could mean launching the sale within 2016 without demanding binding offers in the current year.

PPC played an active role in the procedures leading to the proposals made by the consulting firms.

The IPTO plan, based on latest news, entails transferring a 51 percent share of the operator to the Greek State for a price to be paid to PPC, offering a network operator the right to acquire at least 20 percent, and placing the remainder on the bourse.

 

Completion of NOME plan expected at meeting today

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The Greek government and the country’s creditor representative officials are just one step away from finalizing a draft for Greece’s NOME-type auction plan, government sources informed energypress yesterday following a meeting between lenders and energy minister Panos Skourletis at the Athens Hilton.

The NOME auction plan’s draft is expected to be completed today at a new meeting between energy ministry officials and technical officials representing the creditors.

According to the government sources, the starting price level for the NOME auctions – intended to provide third parties with access to main power utility PPC’s low-cost lignite and hydropower sources as part of the bailout-related obligation to help break the utility’s dominance – will be set well below the System Marginal Price (SMP) of each relevant period. The SMP was 41.4 euros per MWh in March.

Quite obviously, the energy packages to be offered by PPC at the NOME auctions will not only include lignite-fired electricity production but hydropower output as well if auction starting prices are to be set well below the SMP.

Although reluctant, PPC has no other choice than to accept auction starting prices below the SMP.

The sources also informed that independent suppliers who purchase low-priced electricity quantities at the NOME auctions will be free to market these quantities to any consumer groups they please. In the past, Greek government officials, seeking to protect PPC’s interests, had sought to obligate independent suppliers to cover the full range of consumer sub-categories – household, professional, industrial, and agricultural.

It also appears likely that independent suppliers will be permitted to offer excess electricity amounts to the secondary market, even at levels higher than the purchase price. In addition, independent suppliers will probably also be given the green light to export any excess electricity amounts purchased.

As for the future of the power grid operator IPTO, a PPC subsidiary firm, Greek officials and the lenders appear to have agreed on the fundamentals of a Greek proposal made last December, which entails transferring a 51 percent stake of IPTO to the Greek state and the remainder to strategic, institutional and bourse investors.

However, certain details still need to be finalized. These include the extent of the strategic investor’s stake in IPTO and whether the operator’s managing director will be appointed by private-sector investors. Revisions concerning the sale procedure and PPC’s compensation for IPTO’s split are also expected.

The next meeting for the IPTO breakaway plan is scheduled to take place Tuesday, when the consulting firms hired for the transfer – Lazard, Sol, and Norton Rose – meet with creditor representatives for revision approvals.