Completion of the Cyprus-Greece electricity interconnector has been pushed back by a year to January 1, 2031, and its cost will exceed 1.9 billion euros, the head of the Cyprus Energy Regulatory Authority (CERA) told parliament’s Energy Committee.
CERA president Polyvios Lemonaris said the final cost could not yet be determined. “The data for the interconnector show that 1.9 billion euros is not enough,” he said, adding that CERA could not calculate how high it would go.
He said CERA had been informed of the delay in a letter from cable maker Nexans, sent through the project’s implementing body. The interconnector had originally been due to be completed and energised on January 1, 2030.
Seabed surveys
Lemonaris said completing the seabed surveys, which are still under way, was key to determining the final cost, as their results are directly linked to the cost of manufacturing and laying the subsea cable.
So far, 60 per cent of the surveys have been completed at a cost of 45 million euros, and the remaining 40 per cent is expected to take about six more months.
Cable for two sections, 170 km and 280 km long, has been manufactured, and tests have been carried out at great depths at sea in Italy, he said.
Ownership question
Lemonaris said the regulators of Cyprus and Greece had sent a joint letter in August to the implementing body, Greece’s Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO), asking for information and clarification about a possible change in the project’s ownership under a deal between IPTO and Meridiam. The letter has not yet been answered, leaving the issue unresolved.
He added that IPTO had not yet submitted a study on how the interconnector would affect the electricity market.
Returns and risks
The interconnector’s operator is set to earn a return of 8.3 per cent for the first 17 years, falling to 4.6 per cent for the following 17 years, Lemonaris said.
Answering questions from parliament members, he said that if the project were terminated, whether because of force majeure, fault on the part of the implementing body or geopolitical risk, the cost of the damage would be shared between Cyprus and Greece. The interconnector has a lifespan of 50 years.
On Israel, Lemonaris said an investment request had been submitted and the two sides would meet on November 5. The meeting will check whether the file is complete, and an assessment will follow at a second stage.
