The crucial meeting of all stakeholders involved in the Cyprus-Greece electricity interconnection will begin at 3:30 p.m. at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia. The meeting, chaired by the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr. Nicos Christodoulides, will see the participation of the Greek Minister of Environment and Energy, Mr. Theodoros Skrekas, along with other representatives.
In a parallel development, not unrelated to today’s meeting, the Italian research vessel “Ievoli Relume” has been sailing within Greek territorial waters since yesterday, conducting surveys for the laying of the cable, although it briefly exited the area.
From the Cypriot side, the Ministers of Energy, Commerce and Industry, Finance, and the Deputy Minister to the President will attend the Nicosia meeting for the “Great Sea Interconnector” project. Representatives from the European Commission, which is funding the project with €657 million through the “Connect Europe Facility”, representatives from ADMIE, the company NEXANS, and the Legal Service of the Republic of Cyprus will also participate.
According to a report in the Cypriot newspaper “Politis”, Mr. Christodoulides will propose two key measures: increasing the European Commission grant by €200 million and changing the cable route to start from Crete towards Cyprus, limiting the cost in case of project interruption due to Turkey.
Final decisions are not expected today and may be made in the coming days. However, it is uncertain whether today’s attempt to find “common ground” between Athens and Nicosia, regarding the latter’s objections to the cost of the “Great Sea Interconnector”, will lead to an agreement, as objections persist.
In his statements yesterday, Mr. Skrekas pointed out that, in Athens’ view, the project does not face any issue of economic viability in terms of the benefits it offers, primarily to Cypriot consumers.
He explained that, based on the study data, the ADMIE model, and the publicly available data on the operation of the two markets, the price differences between Greece and Cyprus are so significant (the Cypriot market is more expensive than the Greek market by €72 in 2024), that in all realistically possible scenarios, the cable generates significant gains for Cypriot consumers.
The problem lies in the lack of financial viability of the project from a regulatory framework perspective. In other words, the project developer, ADMIE, 51% owned by the Greek taxpayer, cannot proceed without incurring losses, which is also legally impermissible.
According to the Greek Ministry of Environment and Energy, financial viability has not been achieved, although it is an obligation of the regulatory authorities based on the relevant European regulations, especially after the decision of the Cypriot Energy Regulatory Authority last July and despite the fact that the relevant contractual deadlines with the cable manufacturer have passed.
The Cypriot side emphasizes that, if Nicosia receives the assurances it seeks, an agreement is expected to be ratified in principle, according to which the Republic of Cyprus will pay €25 million annually until 2030, with a ceiling of €125 million, from revenues from the auctioning of pollution permits. However, this becomes questionable, as this specific financing method has been criticized as an indirect burden on the consumer by the Energy Committee of the Cypriot Parliament.
Navtex and Surveys by “Ievoli Relume”
At the same time, as reported by the Cypriot channel Omega, in a move not unrelated to the intense and final processes for decision-making regarding the electricity interconnection of Cyprus with Greece, the Italian research vessel “Ievoli Relume” has been sailing in an area within Greek territorial waters since yesterday morning, conducting surveys for the laying of the cable, although it briefly exited the area.
The vessel’s surveys are being carried out under a Greek NAVTEX issued on Monday by the Heraklion station. This NAVTEX provides for the conduct of surveys from September 8 to 10, including two areas within Greek territorial waters, south of Kasos and Karpathos. The NAVTEX is activated while the critical meeting for the Crete-Cyprus electricity interconnection is taking place today in Nicosia.
This may be another message from Athens that the project will not be hindered, and an attempt, ahead of Tuesday’s meeting, to alleviate fears about geopolitical risks.