The Cyprus Energy Regulatory Authority (CERA) on Thursday announced its decision to approve the recovery of actual investment expenditures amounting to 82 million euros for the Great Sea Interconnector project, based on the data submitted by the implementing body, Greece’s Independent Power Transmission Operator (ADMIE), up to July 21.
CERA set the ceiling for payments for the period from January 1 to December 31 at €25 million, on the condition that ADMIE obtains the owner’s license and the Interconnector line operator license.
Cyprus’ Energy Minister Giorgos Papanastasiou clarified that payment following CERA’s decision is a matter of political decision between the governments of Cyprus and Greece.
The decision by CERA to approve part of the expenditure presented by ADMIE, and the fact that a tariff is about to be charged on Cyprus’ consumer bills by the Cyprus Transmission System Operator (TSOC), does not necessarily mean that the amount will be disbursed to ADMIE, he added.
The minister also stressed that the payment of the amount to the implementing body, based on the agreed terms, presupposes that the project is in progress in its entirety.
“For a project to be considered in progress, all of its phases must be under way, not just one,” he said.