DEDDIE sale preliminary deadline near, China’s SGCC out of contention

Posted on January 18, 2021January 18, 2021 by admin

Prominent US funds such as Blackrock and KKR, European funds, including Ardian, as well as distribution network operators, primarily from Europe’s south, and central Europe, are among 19 likely participants, to date, in power utility PPC’s sale of a 49 percent stake in subsidiary DEDDIE/HEDNO, the distribution network operator.

An approaching expression-of-interest deadline set by PPC expires on January 29. In the lead-up, some 70 possible investors have been approached by three consultants, Goldman Sachs, Eurobank and Grant Thornton, commissioned by the power utility for the DEDDIE/HEDNO sale.

State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) cannot take part in the sale as its strategic partnership with Greek power grid operator IPTO, in which the Chinese company holds a 24 percent stake, would represent a breach of conflicting-interest rules.

SGCC recently made clear an interest to further develop its presence in the Greek electricity market by either increasing its IPTO stake or pursuing a share in DEDDIE.

RES special account support to be reshaped from scratch

Posted on July 20, 2020July 20, 2020 by admin

The energy ministry, looking to counter the gradually emerging RES special account deficit, a worrying development, has adopted a holistic approach for structural energy market revisions over a ten-year period and will not limit its actions to patchwork solutions, a leading ministry official has told energypress.

The ministry intends to radically reshape the RES special account’s financing model with the new market conditions in mind. These include the RES sector’s spectacularly increased share of the energy mix, the imminent launch of the target model, the ongoing withdrawals of lignite units, and the gas sector’s bigger role.

The RES-supporting ETMEAR surcharge included in electricity bills as a key funding source for the RES special account was implemented when renewables held just a minor share of the energy mix, the ministry official noted.

“The RES special account’s funding tools and philosophy need to be reexamined given the fact that we are aiming for a RES sector energy mix share of 65 percent,” the official remarked.

According to sources, DAPEEP, the RES market operator, will commission professional services company Grant Thorton to conduct a study examining the factors that influence the RES special account’s cash inflow and costs. RAE, the Regulatory for Energy, has already announced a similar-minded study. The authority is believed to have already received four offers from bidders.

The ministry aims to have received the results of these studies by September or October.

In addition, the ministry has assembled an unofficial working group, advising it to look at the issue from scratch with an all-encompassing approach.

Post-lignite plan to Boston Consulting, Grant Thorton

Posted on June 3, 2020June 3, 2020 by admin

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.