DLA Piper has advised the Hellenic Republic in negotiations with the European Commission to resolve a ‘Greek lignite and electricity markets’ antitrust case.
According to DLA Piper, this resulted in the Hellenic Republic proposing new commitments, which were accepted by the European Commission on September 1, 2021, and made legally binding. “This case dates back to 2008 when the European Commission issued its first decision expressing concerns regarding the impact on the Greek electricity market of the Hellenic Republic previously granting exclusive access of lignite to the Public Power Corporation.”
According to the firm, “following appeals before the European courts, further Commission decisions and an attempt to resolve the case in 2018 through a remedy consisting of the divestment of certain PPC’s lignite plants, the Hellenic Republic submitted, on September 1, 2021, a revised remedy. This entails the sale of quarterly forward electricity products on the organized exchanges of the European Energy Exchange (EEX) and/or the Hellenic Energy Exchange (HEnEx), thus giving PPC’s competitors access to wholesale electricity on the forward market and helping them hedge against price volatility. The proposed remedy will lapse when existing lignite plants stop operating commercially (expected by 2023) or, at the latest, by December 31, 2024.”
DLA Piper’s team included Partner Orestis Omran, Senior Associates Stella Mavrommati and Andreas Politis, and Associate Panagiota Skiathiti.
