Government backs Great Sea Interconnector while assessing consumer costs
Energy Minister Michalis Damianos said Cyprus supports the Great Sea Interconnector but will assess its viability and impact on electricity consumers.
Nicosia, Cyprus. The government supports the implementation of the Great Sea Interconnector (GSI) while examining its economic viability and potential impact on electricity consumers, Energy Minister Michalis Damianos said on Sunday.
He said the government would decide on participation in the project’s share capital after the European Investment Bank completes a study expected before the end of the year.
Consumer costs and funding
In an interview with Kathimerini, Damianos said calculations already carried out showed that the project would increase the price of electricity per kilowatt hour.
If costs rose significantly, additional funding from European or other funds should be sought, he said.
Damianos said Cyprus’s potential participation in the project’s share capital was not an end in itself, noting that a minority stake would not alone guarantee a substantive role in decision making.
He said other options were under consideration, including changing the cost payback period to spread the burden on consumers in a sustainable manner.
Supply security and regional link
Damianos said the government supports the project because it would secure electricity supply for Cyprus and has geopolitical value.
He said the Cyprus-Israel connection would follow the Cyprus-Crete link and form part of the wider India Middle East Europe corridor (Imec).
President Nikos Christodoulides and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis agreed to update the project’s technical and economic parameters, he said. The European Investment Bank study is expected to provide a clearer picture of the final cost.
Other electricity cost factors
Damianos said the overall electricity price does not depend solely on the interconnector.
He cited the completion of the Vasiliko project, the import of natural gas for electricity generation and increased energy storage batteries as factors that would help reduce costs.
Legal and political commitments
Asked whether Cyprus could withdraw if the project proved unviable, Damianos said it was a difficult legal issue whether the Republic could refuse a project for which commitments had been made by the previous government.
Referring to a 2024 framework of understanding that he had previously described to the House as legally watered down, Damianos said his comments concerned only its legal standing.
He said the framework remains a political commitment that Cyprus respects.
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