Very little was known about the outcome of yesterday’s meeting between Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the president of Cyprus with high on the agenda the electrical interface Cyprus – Crete.

According to the filenews.comthe most important information was officially given by the Presidency of the Republic of Cyprus and related to the issue that is considered the most important pending: The participation of Cyprus, through a state company or organization, in the share capital of Great Sea Interconnectorwith approximately 30% of the shares.

According to a statement from the Cypriot presidency, Nikos Christodoulidis “confirmed to Kyriakos Mitsotakis the political commitment of the Republic of Cyprus to participate in the share capital of the project as soon as possible and after the completion of the due diligence study and the establishment of a special purpose company, for which advanced consultations are also underway with third countries”.

In the same publication it is stated that the impression was given yesterday by various sources that Kyriakos Mitsotakis and more broadly the Greek side accepted the political commitment to purchase equity capital in GSI and did not insist on any other… proof from Cyprus. The publication, immediately after, of the announcement of the Presidency, with a clear record of the political commitment of the President of the Republic, was apparently agreed upon during the meeting of the two leaders.

If it is confirmed in the next few days that the thorn in the extension of a few months requested by the Cypriot government to finalize its investment participation in the Great Sea Interconnector has indeed been removed, what remains is to amend the regulatory decision of CERA, based on the decision of the Council of Ministers on last Tuesday, but also the cross-border cost-sharing amendment (CBCA).

Today, CERA will take the long-awaited decision from ADMIE, in consultation with the Greek Energy Regulatory Authority.

The decision that CERA will take today concerns two changes, for which the regulator has already agreed, in the context of previous teleconferences with the Greek regulatory authority, the Greek Ministry of Energy, the Commission and ADMIE:

  1. The start of granting revenue to the implementation body (Great Sea Interconnector) to cover its expenses during the construction stage of the project. The decision will provide for charging consumers in Cyprus a very small amount per kilowatt hour, which will, however, be returned to electricity consumers at the same time through a state subsidy on electricity bills. This is an integration into the regulatory framework of the decision taken last Tuesday by the Ministry, to finance the implementation body with 25 million per year (a total of 125 million euros in the period 2025-2029), against its reasonable expenses for the constructions. Legally, the submission to the Parliament and approval of a supplementary budget will be required at a later stage, in order to allow the financing of the ADMIE.
  2. The regulatory decision will change today also for the time extension of the granting of an increased (preferential) rate of return on capital (premium WACC) for a period of 17 years and not 12 as provided by the current decision. Apportionment is still pending

As philenews wrote yesterday, there is no information on other amendments today to the regulatory framework (specifically, to the cross-border cost sharing – CBCA) during the CERA session.

We remind you that it was said competently that the Greek Government has agreed to divide by 50% between the two sides any cost from a possible interruption or non-operation of the interconnection for reasons for which the implementing body will not be responsible. However, it is not known when and by what procedure this decision will be incorporated into the regulatory framework.

In addition, there is no information as to whether the CBCA will finally be amended or not to incorporate the request of the Cypriot side to share 50-50 to the consumers of the two countries the additional cost beyond 1.94 billion euros, in case it is exceeded.

Procedurally – after what has been discussed in person or in teleconferences – CERA and RAAE in Greece have agreed to make all the changes that will be included in the decisions – agreements of the two governments.