BRUSSELS, Aug 4 (Reuters) - The European Commission said on Thursday it had accepted remedies offered by Greece to curb the monopoly of state-owned electricity company Public Power Corporation (PPC) over lignite coal deposits.
The Greek government has committed to grant exploitation rights to four lignite deposits through public tenders that would exclude PPC, the EU executive said in a statement.
This measure would ensure that PPC's competitors in the electricity market get access to lignite, known as brown coal, and used as a fuel for power generation.
"The Commission's decision makes sure that competitors of PPC will get fair access to lignite, which is crucial to allow new entrants into the Greek electricity generation market," EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said in the statement.
The former Greek electricity monopoly enjoys privileged access for the extraction and exploitation of lignite deposits in Greece and competitors cannot compete because they are denied access to sufficient quantities of lignite, the Commission said.
The EU regulator said in 2008 that Greece had infringed EU competition rules by granting privileged access to lignite to PPC and allowed the company to maintain or reinforce its dominant position on the Greek wholesale electricity market.
The Greek government has proposed granting exploitation rights on the lignite deposits of Drama, Elassona, Vevi and Vegora through tender procedures to PPC's competitors.
It has also agreed to ensure that the companies winning the tenders will not sell the lignite extracted from these deposits to PPC. (Reporting by Bate Felix; Editing by Rupert Winchester)