RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, intends to reiterate and seek reconfirmation of commitments taken on by all parties involved in the delayed Crete-Athens grid interconnection’s development via a letter to be forwarded to all, sources have informed. The move is seen as a counterattack following criticism by Brussels officials.

Besides Euroasia Interconnector – a consortium of Cypriot interests heading a wider PCI-status project planned to link the Greek, Cypriot and Israeli power grids – Greece’s power grid operator IPTO and its Cypriot counterpart, RAE will also forward copies of the letter to the European Commission and Greece’s energy ministry, for their information.

A dispute between IPTO and Euroasia Interconnector for control over the wider project’s Greek segment has prompted delays.

According to sources, Euroasia Interconnector and the Cypriot power grid operator, in a letter to RAE, recently named their representatives for a committee being assembled to work on ensuring the technical compatibility of the Greek section with the overall grid interconnection project’s Crete-Cyprus and Cyprus-Israel segments. RAE intends to soon name the committee’s Greek representatives, sources informed.

RAE, in its letter, will also highlight the need for the local interconnection project’s swift progress so as to prevent an energy shortage threat on Crete as of 2020 due to EU-required closures of outdated diesel-fired power stations still operating on the island.

Euroasia Interconnector has been granted a deadline extension until the end of the year to present capital needed for its participation in Ariadne, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) established by IPTO for the project’s Greek segment, RAE is expected to remind in its letter.

RAE’s overall handling of the matter does not contravene EU regulations or threaten the project’s PCI status, the authority contends.