The Cretan grid cannot take on any further interconnections as power grid operator IPTO’s Crete-Peloponnese and Crete-Athens grid links, plus the Cyprus-Crete subsea cable connection planned by EuroAsia Interconnector have exhausted the island’s capacity, IPTO officials have underlined.

IPTO officials, at a recent meeting with representatives of the Eunice Group, heading the effort for development of the GAP Interconnector (Greece-Africa Power) project, informed of Crete’s inability to take on any further interconnections, according to IPTO sources. An alternative route for the GAP Interconnector not involving Crete will, as a result, be needed, the IPTO officials have asserted.

GAP Interconnector officials want to develop their project as a means of importing RES-generated energy from Egypt to mainland Greece via Crete.

The plan entails installing two subsea cables, offering a 2,000-MW capacity, from coastal Matruh in Egypt to Crete’s Atherinolakko, a distance of approximately 450 kilometers.

Any new major grid interconnection involving Crete would hamper the local grid’s ability to operate safely and reliably, while also endangering the grid, itself, and interconnections, IPTO officials warned.