Greek environment and energy ministry officials, speaking on Cyprus this week, emphasized that the new Mitsotakis government in Athens considers the power grid connection between Israel, Cyprus and Greece as a significant priority, with only the connection of Crete with the mainland grid being an even more press priority.
The Israel-Cyprus-Greece connection project has been included in a European Union framework, following a proposal by the company Euroasia Interconnector. Nevertheless, a failure by the latter and the state-run Independent Power Transmission Operator S.A. (ADMHE) during the previous government’s tenure led to ADMHE’s establishing a subsidiary tasked with constructing the Attica prefecture (mainland Greece) Crete power line, along with a tender for cables and cable-laying.
Connecting Crete with the Greek mainland grid has become an urgent priority, given that the country’s largest island, and one of the biggest regional economies in Greece, is already experiencing power shortages, with the prospect of older diesel-fired units going offline due to stricter Community environmental regulations. At the same time, the Greek state wants to reduce the subsidy paid out from public coffers to consumers, mainly on various islands, for cheaper electricity.
