Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited a new Public Power Corporation power plant in Ptolemaida on Friday afternoon during a tour of Western Macedonia.
The prime minister inspected a new high-efficiency combined heat and power unit built on the site of the former Kardia Thermal Power Plant. The facility is run by PPC, Greece's principal power utility, which is shifting away from traditional fossil fuel generation.
Mitsotakis said a healthy and profitable power company enables support for society and the economy through competitive electricity rates. He noted that maintaining affordable energy prices is crucial at a time when tackling high living costs remains his government's top priority.
He added that PPC will generate numerous jobs in Western Macedonia to reinforce major investment projects already taking shape in the area. Within a few years, he said, the regional employment balance will turn positive, bringing more and better-paid jobs than those eliminated during the shift from lignite coal to cleaner energy.
Greenhouse Investment and Energy Transition
Earlier on Friday, Mitsotakis attended an event for Wonderplant, a 130 million euro investment in Mavropigi within the Eordaia municipality. The venture centers on building a state-of-the-art hydroponic tomato greenhouse, an advanced farming method that grows crops in nutrient solutions rather than soil.
Turning to fuel economics, Mitsotakis said lignite cannot compete with alternative energy sources given current carbon dioxide emission costs. Western Macedonia has long served as Greece's industrial coal heartland, but rising carbon prices have accelerated the phase-out of brown coal units.
New Industrial Spatial Strategy
Mitsotakis also highlighted a special spatial plan for industry published on Friday. He explained that competent ministries held extensive consultations with business leaders before finalizing the framework, incorporating many suggestions from the industrial community.
The prime minister emphasized that supporting industry and export-oriented growth is a clear political choice by his administration. He described the spatial plan as an essential foundation for an innovative industrial policy designed to create additional high-paying jobs.
