If the decision of the Cyprus Energy Regulatory Authority on the Great Sea Interconnector with Greece is not changed, the project will be stopped.  IPTO Chairman and CEO Manos Manousakis told CYPE yesterday regarding the decision of RAEK 215/2024 (2/7/2024) on the GSI revenue methodology.

In detail, Mr. Manousakis points out the following:

"The decision of the Cyprus Energy Regulatory Authority announced to IPTO makes the Great Sea Interconnector project unviable. The previous revenue methodology decision (RAEK 022/2023, 25/1/2023, Annex 1) was made when the project was the implementing entity. It was based on that decision that IPTO was given the investment decision to become the project's implementing entity in October 2023. This reversal creates a negative present value of more than €100 million for the project. It creates an issue of legal certainty for the investment and an issue of confidence in the administrative decisions, which must be reviewed immediately in order for the project to continue. We are in consultation with the RAEC to file a request for review in the coming days.

Greece has already committed, through the RAEC decision, that Greek consumers will pay their share of the electricity interconnection during its construction in order to make the project viable. We expect a similar decision from the Cypriot side.

The amount that Cypriot consumers are asked to pay during the construction of the Crete-Cyprus electricity interconnection is only 0.6 euro cents per KWh, a cost that will be recovered from the reduction in electricity bills that it will cause, already in the first year of operation.

I also want to make it clear that IPTO has the financial strength to build the project, but under the circumstances created by this regulatory decision, no investor would become a shareholder.".

Finally, the IPTO CEO said another result will be the loss of an opportunity to reduce the high power prices now paid by Cypriot consumers.