Greece’s main electricity supplier Public Power Corp. (PPC) plunged to a loss last year as it set aside hundreds of millions of euros to cover the cost of bills left unpaid by customers hit by years of economic crisis.

PPC, which is 51 per cent state owned, said on Tuesday it made a loss of €102.5 million ($114.6 million) last year, compared with a net profit of €91.3 million in 2014.

Provisions for unpaid bills and litigation more than doubled, reaching €950 million last year, as a protracted recession and capital controls imposed in June took a toll on households and businesses.

Overdue bills are estimated to have exceeded €2 billion since the debt crisis broke out in Greece in 2010, Reuters reports.

PPC’s chief executive Emmanuel Panagiotakis said bills in arrears was an issue of “strategic importance” which, if not addressed, would affect the company’s investment plan.

In a bid to collect some of the unpaid bills, PPC announced last week a four-month payment scheme of 36 instalments for households, businesses and industries, effective from next month.

Competition from smaller rivals also weighed on the utility, which lost market share and its sales dropped 2.2 per cent to €5.73 billion as a result.

The company has said its share of the Greek electricity market fell to 94.5 per cent last year from 98.5 per cent.

Panagiotakis forecast sales will decrease further to €5.5 billion this year.

Under a third bailout Greece signed up with international lenders last summer, the country has committed to opening up its energy market to competition, with PPC’s share expected to fall to below 50 per cent by 2020.

* 2015 net loss €102.5 million – provisions for unpaid bills more than doubled.