The Technical Chamber of Greece – Western Macedonia Section, prior to the passage of the bill on the “Small PPC” (June 2014) with a public intervention, stressed the necessity of charting the indicative commitments – obligations of the Public Power Corporation (PPC) S.A. towards the society of Western Macedonia, precisely to highlight the necessity of recording all obligations and commitments and apportioning them among potential buyers in a manner that protects local societies and safeguards the public interest.
Emphasis was placed on consolidating the relationship of trust between the society of Western Macedonia and the public PPC, which supported Greece’s most important industrialisation endeavour and the creation of the largest lignite centre in South-Eastern Europe. The relationship of trust mitigated the high regional risk assumed by Western Macedonia, whilst simultaneously contributing to the management of the multiple impacts of lignite activity on the urban and natural environment.
In essence, Western Macedonia supported the country's developmental trajectory with its mineral wealth, paying the environmental and social toll, firmly believing that from the opening of the first lignite mine until the closure of the very last power generation unit, it would be dealing with a strong and reliable enterprise of non-negotiable public character, assuming the environmental responsibility that befits it for its activities in the region.
For Western Macedonia, the necessity of recording and integrating these obligations continues to exist, and they must proportionally “burden” the private consortiums that will likely participate in the further privatisation of the PPC. These obligations primarily concern the restoration/reuse of exhausted mines and the decommissioning cost of lignite units for the entirety of the installed capacity along the energy axis of Western Macedonia. Consequently, it is essential in whatever bill is passed for the privatisation of the PPC that the cost, specifically of environmental restorations, is foreseen and proportionally apportioned
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For the Steering Committee of the Technical Chamber of Greece – Western Macedonia Section (TEE/TDM)
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The President
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Dimitris Mavromatidis
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