Power utility PPC has just announced a tender for leasing contracts concerning power generators with a total capacity of 58 MW for Crete, to serve as back-up for grid sufficiency on the island during July and August, in anticipation of the tourism-related peak in electricity demand.

The generators, to be installed at PPC’s power station at Atherinolakkos, southeastern Crete, are intended to back an imminent subsea grid interconnection linking the island with the Peloponnese – the first step of a bigger interconnection project to reach Athens – which will have only been in operation for a few months when summer arrives.

The Crete-Peloponnese power grid interconnection is expected to be ready for launch in late April.

PPC’s plan for generators, budgeted at approximately 4 million euros, has been divided into two sections, one for 23 MW, the other for 35 MW. Participants can only submit offers for one of the tender’s two sections.

According to the tender’s terms, PPC will maintain the right to extend the lease contracts for all or some of the generators by a month, also covering September, if needed.

Distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO has estimated that Crete will need between 75 and 80 MW in additional capacity this summer. Besides the 58 MW to be provided by the generators through the tender, PPC will secure the required remainder through back-up solutions already possessed by the power utility.

If all goes according to plan, PPC’s rented generators, mobile units running on high-cost diesel, will not need to be used at all while stationed on the island, meaning the initiative’s total cost would be limited to the value of the lease agreements.