Euroasia escalates Crete grid link legal action, IPTO unperturbed

Euroasia Interconnector, a consortium of Cypriot interests heading a PCI-status grid interconnection to link the Greek, Cypriot and Israeli systems, has escalated its legal action against Greek power grid operator IPTO by submitting a suspension request intended to stop the latter’s development of the project’s Greek segment, to connect Crete with Athens.

The two sides have been at odds for control of the Greek segment’s development. The Crete-Athens electricity grid interconnection is urgently needed to prevent an energy shortage on Crete, Greece’s largest island.

The action comes following a meeting this week between Euroasia Interconnector officials and Greece’s newly appointed energy minister Costis Hatzidakis. The Cypriot officials obviously came out of the session  dissatisfied.

Euroasia Interconnector is seeking to overturn decisions by Greek authorities that have established Ariadne Interconnector, an IPTO subsidiary, as the Crete-Athens grid interconnection’s project promoter.

The latest legal action threatens to block tenders concerning the local segment’s development.

IPTO’s legal representatives are confident the latest action will prove futile and not lead to any further delays of the the project’s two tenders, both currently in progress.

Participants of a tender for the engineering, procurement and installation of cables and stations concerning the Crete-Athens electricity grid interconnection face an August 5 deadline, following two extensions. A second tender for the engineering, procurement and installation of two transformer stations and a substation concerning the project has been extended to August 30.