Greece gets informal EU approval to push sale of coal-fired plants
Reuters reported that European Commission has informally allowed Greece’s Public Power Corp to extend the deadline for binding bids for three coal-fired plants by three weeks. An energy ministry source said that Greece agreed to sell the plants under its latest international bailout, which ended in August. The source said potential bidders and advisors had requested that the deadline be delayed until after the Christmas holiday period to give them more time.
PPC, which is 51 percent state-owned, has shortlisted all six investors interested in buying Meliti I and two other plants in Megalopoli on the Peloponnese peninsula, as well as a license to build a new plant, Meliti II, in northern Greece.
The deadline for the final bids had been set at December 15, and it is not known if all six will submit bids.
An energy ministry official told Reuters on condition of anonymity that Greece has sought EU Commission approval for the binding bids to be submitted by January 7 and for any improved offers by January 10. It aims to have concluded the divestment process by January 15.
The Commission has informally approved the request, the official said, and Athens is now waiting for official confirmation of the extension in writing.
Source : Reuters