Released on: November 6, 2007, 10:24 am

Press Release Author: GRENE

Industry: Financial

Press Release Summary: (ATHENS) - Greece\'s environment ministry on Monday slapped a
landmark fine of one million euros (1.4 million dollars) on the state-owned Public
Power Corporation (PPC) for excessive air pollution.

Press Release Body: The fine, the first of its kind imposed on the electricity
giant, was levelled after inspectors found above-level sulphur dioxide and particle
emissions at three of its coal-fired plants, Environment Minister George Souflias
said.

\"Measurements have found that 40 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in this country
come from the PPC, and the company makes a major contribution to air pollution,\"
Souflias said in a statement.

Fines worth 600,000 euros were imposed on the PPC plants in Ptolemaida and Kozani
which repeatedly exceeded health-mandated particle levels last year.

The same two stations topped a list of the worst-polluting European Union
electricity plants in 2006, compiled by environmental group WWF International.

Another 400,000 euros was imposed on the Megalopoli plant in the Peloponnese, where
sulphur dioxide emissions at two of its stations had repeatedly exceeded permitted
daily levels.

Inspectors also found lax emissions testing and sulphur filters which at one of the
stations were inoperative for over a third of its running time in 2006.

\"Greece must be consistent with its Kyoto Protocol obligations,\" Souflias said,
referring to the United Nations protocol on cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

He added that inspections would be extended to all PPC plants.

A near-monopoly operator, the PPC controls around 89 percent of the Greek
electricity market and the national power grid. Some 56 percent of its power
production comes from lignite, a low-grade brown coal that is a heavy pollutant.

Residents near PPC plants and environmental groups had complained that the company
was committing serious pollution violations for years, to no avail.

The PPC blamed the problem on low-grade lignite and said ongoing upgrades would
reduce pollution from 2008 onwards.

It also said that high demand for power along with a state ban on building new
plants made it difficult to sideline older facilities.

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Contact Details: Athens, Greece