Greece’s Energy Ministry suspended on Tuesday the operating licenses of private electricity providers Energa and Hellas Power, due to unpaid debts to state power company DEH and the Hellenic Transmission System Operator. The two companies owe more than 27 million euro. At the same time, the financial crime units of the Finance Ministry (SDOE) investigate the fiscal sheets of the two private energy providers and has allegedly frozen the bank assets of these two companies.
Worldwide Energy Limited, the Russian-Arabic fund that beginning of January 2012 acquired Energa and Hellas Power, claims compensation of some 340 million euro considering that DEH and other state bodies in Greece have undermined their efforts to expand and meet their obligations.
Energa and Hellas Power have 200,000 customers who as of Jan 25, 2012 midnight will automatically receive power from the Greek state power company (DEH/PPC) and pay accordingly the high elecricity prices. They will have a period of 3 months to sign new contracts with the ‘power provider of their choise’ said a statement by the Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE) and operator DESMIE.
State power company DEH has established a special telephone line for Energa and Hellas Power customers seeking advise : 214-214-2000 (working hours Monday-Sunday, 8 am – 8 pm)
Yes it makes you wonder indeed… And it is not the first time. There is a long list of private ‘players’ in the Greek market, slowly strangled by the dinosaurs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXCUBVS4kfQ
I guess the big pieces from the Greek pie has to be given with priotity to lenders’ interest. A Russian-Arabian fund? What is this???
Yep, the Greek nomenklatura seems to have strange bed fellows and even strangers ones they don’t want in their bed… 😀
But this fund is, says Bloomberg, adamant there is no debt at all… Teichaios? Den nomizo… 😆