PPC secures EUR 160 million for distribution network upgrade, expansion

Greece’s Public Power Corporation (PPC) has secured a EUR 160 million loan, backed by a sovereign guarantee, from the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB). The loan will support PPC’s capital expenditure plan concerning the distribution network, the BSTDB said.

The proceeds of the loan will be used to finance PPC’s capital expenditures for the upgrade, modernization, and expansion of the distribution network, which serves approximately seven million customers all over Greece, according to a press release from the BSTDB.

The loan will be used to finance PPC’s capital expenditures for the upgrade, modernization, and expansion of the distribution network

The loan represents the largest BSTDB financing to date, according to the press release.

Athens-based PPC currently holds assets in lignite mines, power generation facilities (conventional thermal and hydropower plants) and distribution as well as renewable energy units, accounting for approximately 55% of the total installed capacity in Greece.

The company is the largest power generator, distribution monopolist and the biggest power supply provider in Greece, as well as one of the largest industrial groups by revenues and assets in the country with approximately 15,500 employees.

PPC is the largest power generator, distribution monopolist and the biggest power supply provider in Greece

The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) is an international financial institution established by Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. The BSTDB headquarters are in Thessaloniki, Greece.

“Capital expenditures in the distribution network which are of critical importance since they will cover the rising demand due to the economic growth result in stable attractive returns for PPC Group. The €160 million new loan is firstly part of the financing of the above strategic CAPEX and secondly represents the commencement of the cooperation between PPC Group and BSTDB which we expect to expand in other areas as well,” said PPC’s Chairman & CEO Manolis Panagiotakis.

Earlier this year, PPC secured a EUR 255 million loan to upgrade the electricity distribution network operated by the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator (HEDNO), its subsidiary.