Greek PPC board signs off on RWE Albania deal

ATHENS, April 22 (Reuters) - Greek electricity utility Public Power Corp.'s (PPC) board on Tuesday signed off on a cooperation deal with Germany's RWE AG under which they will jointly build a coal-fired power plant in Albania, PPC said.

PPC has been seeking partnerships to help modernise its operations and expand in southeast Europe to offset a drop in domestic market share since the country liberalised its energy sector last year under EU guidelines.

PPC has been in negotiations with RWE for the past few months, originally planning to build plants in Greece, but the idea was dropped after continued protests by unions who argued the deals would lead to a further privatisation of the company. "The memorandum of cooperation foresees that if the project (to build a plant in Albania) is viable, a new joint venture company will be created," PPC said in an Athens stock exchange filing.

The two groups would jointly build a 500-800 MW coal-powered plant in Albania, with RWE holding 51 percent of the company, PPC 39 percent and Greek cement company Titan (TTNr.AT: Quote, Profile, Research), already active in Albania, holding a 10 percent stake, it said.

PPC had originally said it was discussing with RWE the possibility of building coal-fire electricity plants in Greece with total capacity of 1,600 MW.

PPC and RWE will also explore the possibility of cooperating in the field of natural gas in Greece if PPC's plans to buy a stake in Greek natural gas operator DEPA fall through.

PPC last year said it would seek to exercise its option to buy 30 percent of the state-controlled gas monopoly but the purchase is dependent on approval by the Greek government, which has not yet indicated its willingness to give it.

PPC and RWE will also look at the development of wind parks jointly with PPC's renewable energy subsidiary. (Reporting by George Hatzidakis; Editing by Paul Bolding)