Greek electricity company experiences stormy privatization

In the center of Athens, in front of the central offices of the public electricity supplier (DEI), a sign is displayed on the storefront: “Hands off DEI!” On October 19, the extraordinary general meeting of the group recorded the decline in the participation of the State, which will drop from 51% to 34% in favor of a capital increase of 750 million euros. The state therefore becomes a minority. A historic decision in Greece.

This announcement comes as, at the same time, the management of DEI has decided to sell 49% of the capital of the electricity distribution network, Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator (Hedno), to the Australian company Macquarie Asset Management for 2 , 1 billion euros. This sale, which must be finalized in the first quarter of 2022, will partly finance the investment plan of more than 2 billion euros intended for the development of renewable energies and the modernization of the network, in particular on the islands.

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DEI is today the largest supplier of electricity in Greece, it holds nearly 63% of the market, the rest belonging to various private companies which have flourished in recent years. Since the financial crisis, Brussels has asked Athens to reduce the weight of DCI on the national energy market and to carry out the privatization provided for by the memoranda signed between the Greek governments which have succeeded one another since 2012 and the country’s creditors. (European Central Bank, European Commission, International Monetary Fund). But between the strong opposition and the heavy indebtedness of the company, the procedure was delayed.

“Fight against fuel poverty”

In March, the European Union (EU) opened a formal investigation, “In order to assess possible abusive behavior of the public supplier in the wholesale electricity sector. Greece ranked among the most expensive countries in the EU for tariffs applied to the wholesale electricity market, reaching up to 178 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) in October (+ 70% since the start of the year). The Confederation of Professionals, Craftsmen and Traders had already alerted the government to the difficulty for businesses to cope with this burden, saying that one in four people cannot pay their bills.

The main union of employees of the electricity company (Genop) believes that the state’s decision to become a minority “Will result in the loss of the largest industrial company in the country . “Public control is needed to prevent uncontrolled increases in electricity prices for households and businesses. DCI is the only guarantee to fight against energy poverty ”, adds the president of Genop, George Adamidis.

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