Power utility PPC has received production license extensions until the end of the year for two gas turbine power plants with a total capacity of 27.95 MW on Crete, at Linoperamata, west of Heraklion, and Chania.

The decision, by RAAEY, the Regulatory Authority for Waste, Energy and Water, was made following a request submitted by PPC on the grounds of ensuring uninterrupted energy supply to Crete until the completion of a second electrical interconnection linking the island with Athens.

In granting production license extensions for the two PPC power plants, RAAEY presumes this second Crete-Athens grid interconnection will have been completed by the second half of this year.

Crete’s installed net capacity of thermal plants currently stands at 600 MW, while demand on the island in the coming years is expected to create serious electricity supply security issues, RAAEY noted.

The need for production capacity availability on Crete depends on the completion of the two phases of the island’s interconnection with the mainland, representing a finalized solution for the long-term security of the island’s electricity supply, the authority noted.

This interconnection’s first phase, linking Crete with the Peloponnese, was completed in 2021.