By Giannis Kanoupakis
[email protected]
Athens reportedly again pledged to meet all of its memorandum-mandated obligations in the energy sector, namely, market liberalization and privatizations, during contacts on Thursday between government officials and visiting EU Energy & Climate Action Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete.
Speaking during a joint press conference with relevant Greek Energy Minister Giorgos Stathakis, the Spanish Commissioner expressed his solid support for the privatization of Greece's natgas grid operator (DESFA) via the sale of a 66-percent sale of the latter.
On his part, Stathakis said relevant decision are days away, pending consultations with EU partners. Moreover, according to sources from the privatization fund (TAIPED or HRADF), the unresolved issue of a national natural gas system regulator will be concluded by the end of the month.
The sale of a minority stake in DESFA and transfer of its management to Azerbaijan's energy multinational Socar collapsed last month, in part over a disagreement over a final sale price, given that the purchase of a majority stake (50 percent + 1) was essentially blocked by the EU Commission. Brussels objected to a non-EU entity and energy provider acquiring a majority of a member-state's transmission network.
In terms of the electricity sector liberalization, the Greek minister said the goal is a reduction in the market share currently enjoyed by state-run Public Power Corp. (PPC), while at the same time ensuring that the utility is viable and robust. He nevertheless avoided any reference to a public sector component entailed in PPC.
