Initiative to mobilize Europe for the de-escalation of energy prices is undertaken by Greeceh Romania and the Bulgariathe Minister of Environment and Energy, Thodoros Skylakakis, announced today, speaking on a radio station.

In particular, as the Ministry of the Interior notes, in a question regarding the cost of energy for the consumer, he noted that in the first phase the government is monitoring developments in the market. At the same time, a joint initiative is taken by the Ministers of Energy of Greece, Bulgaria and Romania, with in order to create a permanent intervention mechanism, whenever extreme values ​​are recordeddue to the cut-off of Southeast Europe from the rest of the European energy market.

“The following paradox is happening: There are not enough interconnections to transfer power from the Central European market to the Southeast. This has the result of having extreme prices on some days, which cannot be accepted in our opinion and is problematic – in this special case – and the operation of the so-called target model” underlined Mr. Skylakakis.

As the Minister explained, “while the problem is that an “energy island” is being created in the region – that is, there are not enough interconnections, the “signal” of the market is that the producers get more money. It makes no sense to give money to the producers, when they need interconnection investments (cables) that should be made by the network operators. Especially when the managers take the investment money from the consumers themselves. This is a fundamental argument. And we have a good justification to seek a permanent solution, a proper tool, to these endemic phenomena. Regardless of this initiative, the government intervenes whenever necessary and we have proven this, time and time again, in the past.”

It is noted that Mr. Skylakakis also discussed the matter with the Federal Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Action of Germany, Dr Robert Habeck, on the sidelines of the events of the 88th TIF.

Referring to her treatment water shortagethe minister stated that on Wednesday (11/9) all the measures taken by the government for this purpose will be presented. He pointed out that there are areas that are under immediate pressure, such as the Aegean islands and above all the Cyclades, areas of the Eastern Peloponnese, Crete, etc., but also areas, such as Attica, for which the long-term plan will be presented, in order not to be threatened by water scarcity. The plan, as the Minister said, includes the implementation of the necessary actions, with great speed.

In relation to Crete-Cyprus cableGreat Sea Interconnector, Mr. Skylakakis noted that in the opinion of the Greek government, it does not face any issue of economic feasibility, in terms of the benefits it provides, above all to Cypriot consumers.

As he explained, based on the data of the ADMIE study and model and the publicly available data on the functioning of the two markets, the price differences between Greece and Cyprus are so great (the Cypriot market will be 72 euros more expensive than the Greek market in 2024) , that in all possibly realistic scenarios the cable has significant gains from the Cypriot consumer side.

The problem is that there is no financial viability of the project in terms of regulatory framework (that is, the developer, ADMIE, which is 51% owned by the Greek taxpayer, can do the project without incurring a loss, which is not legally allowed) .

Economic viability has not been achieved although it is an obligation of the regulatory authorities based on the relevant European regulations, especially after the decision of CERA last July and despite the fact that the relevant contractual deadlines with the cable manufacturer have passed.