The main power utility PPC’s unpaid receivables record, a major issue affecting the corporation’s cash flow, is beginning to improve as a result of a 15 percent discount on electricity bills offered by the utility to punctual customers, PPC’s chief executive has contended in an interview with recently launched weekly Nea Selida.

The utility’s cash flow level for the seven-month period covering January to July, this year, has improved to reach levels registered during the equivalent period in 2016, when PPC’s market share was between 7 and 8 percent greater, Manolis Panagiotakis, PPC chief executive, noted in the interview.

This improved cash inflow will help PPC meet a 110 million-euro bank payment due towards the end of the year, the corporation’s head informed. The utility will have an easier time servicing its debt in 2018, compared to 2017, Panagiotakis said. The year 2019, when PPC’s debt payment commitments include a 400 million-euro bond payment, will be more challenging, Panagiotakis admitted, but assured that plans to assist the effort are already being put into place.

The head official also made reference to PPC’s new business plan currently being prepared with assistance from consulting firm McKinsey, its aim being to drastically restructure production at the utility within the next three years. Emphasis will be placed on foreign markets and provision of new services, the executive informed.

The restructuring effort will include the adoption of a new staff evaluation system through which 1,450 staff members are expected to receive training as part of the overall upgrade. A total of 250 specialized staff members, including top-level technical staff, hired by PPC from 2011 onwards will also receive training, Panagiotakis noted.