Edison, the Italian power utility, on Thursday signed a joint venture agreement with Hellenic Petroleum, Greece’s largest refiner, with the aim of becoming the second-biggest power operator in Greece.

Edison said the 50-50 joint venture would invest €1.5bn ($2.3bn) over the next five years to reach a capacity of more than 1,500MW, about 12 per cent of the Greek market. With 390MW of installed capacity and another 420MW due to start up by 2010, the joint venture will be Greece’s biggest independent power producer.