In recent days there has been discussion of any potential links between two Chinese state-owned companies involved in separate energy projects on the island.
The two companies are China Petroleum Pipelines (CPP), which abandoned construction of the Vasiliko LNG terminal in July 2024, and State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC), which holds a 24% stake in IPTO, the electricity interconnection project‘s implementing entity.
Beyond their state ownership, no particular relationship between the two has been identified thus far, a government source said.
IPTO describes State Grid as a “strategic investor” on its website.
State Grid, founded in 2002, is the world’s fourth-largest company by revenue, with approximately $460 billion as of March 2024. It employs around 900,000 people and provides energy to over 1.1 billion people across China.
The company has recently increased its 2024 investment budget to $82.7 billion, a 13% rise, to bolster transmission lines from renewable energy centres to demand hubs, according to energymag.gr.
State Grid acquired its IPTO stake in 2017. At the time, Greece’s then-Environment and Energy Minister, Giorgos Stathakis, highlighted the importance of cross-border electricity interconnections in transitioning to the EU’s competitive market model.
