Cyprus Energy Minister Georgios Pananastasiou said that the future of the electric cable that will connect the country's power grid with Greece and Israel, will become known next month, when they await a decision on whether Cypriot consumers will pay the costs of the four-year construction of the cable. p>According to the relevant minister, the regulator will issue its final decision on August 12.
The €1.9 billion cable, known as the “Great Sea Interconnector,” is set to end the energy isolation of both the island nation and Israel, promising consumers cheaper energy by transferring more power generated from renewable sources.
The Greek project operator IPTO initially put forward a condition that construction costs should be covered by Cypriot taxpayers to make it viable and attract investors. However, the Cypriot energy regulator CERA rejected this condition.
Pananastasiou noted that IPTO's calculations, which it submitted to CERA for a review of its decision, show that the additional burden on Cypriot consumers during the four-year construction period will be minimal at 0.6 eurocents per kilowatt-hour of energy consumption.
As part of the first stage of the project, 40-50 kilometers of cable have already been laid on the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea, connecting the Greek island of Crete with Cyprus, AP notes.
It is expected that in September the Cypriot government will also decide whether to allocate 100 million euros for the implementation of the project after assessing its viability.
The power cable is part of Cyprus' strategy to move away from crude oil. Nicosia is also looking to build its first gas terminal, which will use cheaper imported liquefied natural gas to run its power plants.
Earlier, Cypriot Defense Minister Vassilis Palmas said plans were underway to build a large naval base.
Prior to that, Cyprus started a strategic dialogue with the US to completely lift the arms embargo.