Work on Crete power link set to start
In the Cretan port city of Iraklio on Thursday Energy Minister Giorgos Stathakis announced the start of the project to construct a power interconnection between Attica and Crete by the end of the year, aiming for completion by end-2022.
The minister also announced that in the transitional stage, from 2020 up to the operation of the new interconnection, Public Power Corporation’s polluting power plants on the southern Greek island will be phased out, in accordance with the country’s obligations to the European Union. A request will also be filed with Brussels for the extension of the operation of newer units that produce lower emissions.
The island’s power sufficiency, Stathakis added, will also be supported by the addition of new, flexible units and by supplementary measures provided in a plan being processed by the Regulatory Authority for Energy.
Stathakis explained that the entity that will implement the interconnection is Ariadne Interconnection, a special-purpose vehicle in which grid operator ADMIE has a stake of at least 51 percent. EuroAsia Interconnector, which is laying cables linking Israel with Cyprus and Greece, will have the option to enter Ariadni’s share capital in the next two months, with a stake of up to 39 percent, he added.
