A 1-billion euro dowry for the buyer of PPC

Yesterday’s symbolic blocking of the Finance ministry entrance by GENOP/DEI was accompanied by an announcement from the Federation which, admittedly, did not contain the usual language used to show the opposition of the employees against the privatization prospect of the PPC.

However, GENOP were touching upon an “old” and forgotten issue: the so-called “inactive investments” by PPC, which got their name because the company was forced by the State to make them, despite them being unsafe based on business criteria.

GENOP/DEI’s announcement spoke of an amount around 1,4bil euros that the EC had awarded the company and which will have to be collected by PPC at some point. Last time we heard about these investments was in ’06, when managing director Dimitris Maniatakis wondered (during a general meeting if I’m not mistaken): “When will they let us collect this amount?”
 

As if anyone would leave it…

The Federation has put forth this question: Could it be that we are dealing with a little “pressie” to the strategic partner that will be chosen? For it is impossible that an individual would not claim the amount based on the specific decision.

So we looked deeper into the matter and as much as we might not like the term “pressie”, it definitely looks like a very generous …latent dowry!

Specifically, it is a ’02 decision related to investments such as the construction of certain thermal units, the infrastructure around those and the preferential price of electricity for the-then “Pesine” in Viotia.

As stated by sources familiar with the subject, about half a billion from the total of 1.4 might be considered lost, since the decision was that it would be returned  by ’06.

However, about 920mil relating to factory construction should be attributed to the PPC by ’15. so it is still quite contestable and if anyone says that such an amount does not exist, the counterargument would be “maybe, but whoever goes after it might achieve something else”…

It seems then that this really opens up an issue which might trouble political figures during the fermentations for the privatization of the PPC, on which disagreement is already expressed by MPs of the ruling party in western Macedonia such as Alekos Athanasiadis and Giorgos Lianis, of Kozani and Florina respectively.

And there are two additional issues, maybe even more. First, the said amounts were to be collected through a fee in the electricity bill, a prospect which is opposed by GENOP, who is asking the government to find a different solution.

And secondly, this specific decision by Brussels was served to the Foreign Affairs ministry when Giorgos Papandreou, the current PM, was the relevant minister.