RAAEY, the Regulatory Authority for Waste, Energy and Water, has approved as valid a budget-increase request submitted by Euroasia Interconnector, the consortium promoting a project planned to interconnect the Greek, Cypriot and Israeli power grids, as the cost of materials, especially cables, have increased significantly.

The authority’s approval of the request highlights Greece’s support for the interconnection project.

The Euroasia Interconnector consortium has asked for the project’s budget to be increased by 350 million-euro budget increase, to 1.925 billion euros from the present level of 1.575 billion euros.

All parties involved with the Euroasia Interconnector project appear determined to push ahead following a recent warning from EU authorities that delays have placed under threat 657 million euros worth of Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) funding for the PCI-listed project.

The Euroasia Interconnector consortium now needs to provide detailed supporting documents to RAAEY and its Cypriot counterpart, RAEK, explaining the reasons why the budget revision has been requested.

Though a timeline has not been established, the Euroasia Interconnector consortium and the regulatory authorities are expected to act fast, given the political support for the interconnection project.