More confusion over Crete power linkup
The landmark electricity interconnection of Crete with Attica is proceeding in a vague regulatory framework with unknown consequences for the future.
On Thursday the Independent Power Transmission Operator (ADMIE) formally announced that its subsidiary Ariadne Interconnection, formed to fund and construct that project, will proclaim the tender for the underwater cable and the conversion stations in Crete and Attica next week.
In its announcement, ADMIE cites a decision by the plenary of the Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE) that authorizes the company to proclaim the tender without delay. However, no such decision has been published by RAE or forwarded to ADMIE.
When Kathimerini asked RAE sources about it, they said this is not a decision but an authorization based on older decisions RAE has issued, while ADMIE sources speak of a RAE decision dated May 9.
These unclear conditions reflect the regulatory impasse that RAE has found itself in after the European Commission notified it that the Athens-Crete project may not be ejected from the list of the European Union’s Project of Common Interest list, which means it has to wait until at least October to formally proceed with the plan as a national project.
