Its growth opportunities PPC in the energy market of Southeast Europe with a focus on acquisitions in Romania (completed), Bulgaria (under review) and the energy corridors developed by upgrading the interconnections between the countries of the region occupy a central position in the new business plan of PPC presented last week the president and CEO of the company George Stassis to a multitude of analysts in London.

According to the new business plan “in addition to the critical role in Greece and the strong presence in Romania, the strategic planning also includes development in Bulgaria and/or the wider region, where the Group aims to have 1.1GW of installed capacity by 2030 “.

It is noted that the PPC occupies the first market place in the production, distribution and supply of electricity in Greece, while in Romania it is the largest supplier with 3 million customers, it occupies the second place in distribution networks and is the largest producer of electricity from RES with 597 megawatt units.

“With its presence in different geographical areas, the PPC Group will succeed with its expanded and mutually complementary RES portfolio of photovoltaic and wind farms, spreading the risk by taking advantage of the different meteorological conditions in each region,” the company said.

According to the presentation of the business plan, the benefit from synergies in the Balkans is estimated at 50 million euros per year.

The plan is supported by the strengthening of interconnections in the region as o ADMIE implements or considers expansion of existing or construction of new interconnections with all the countries on the northern borders of the country. Recently, the second interconnection with Bulgaria was put into operation, while the discussion for the construction of a third has also begun.

According to the relevant data, the cross-border electricity trade in 2023 between Romania – Bulgaria was 1.5 terawatt hours (TWh), Bulgaria – Greece 2.8 TWh and Greece – Italy 1.3 TWh.

A driving force for the energy flows in the interconnections are the significant price differences between the individual markets: the average price of electricity in Romania / Bulgaria in 2023 was 104 euros per megawatt hour, in Greece 119 euros and in Italy 127 euros. The growth of electricity imports/exports has a direct benefit for the consumer too as more expensive domestic sources are replaced by cheaper imports.