ADMIE signs Corinth–Kos interconnection contract with Hellenic Cables: €1.48 billion and 1,000 MW

Greece's Independent Power Transmission Operator (ADMIE) on Monday, 9 November, signed the contract with Hellenic Cables for the submarine and underground cables of the Corinth–Kos interconnection. According to the operator, the signing marks the start of construction, with seabed surveys beginning shortly.

The figures. The project, with a total budget of €1.48 billion, covers the design, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) of a 320 kV high-voltage direct current (HVDC) link with a transmission capacity of 1,000 MW. The cable system will total approximately 1,290 km. Cenergy Holdings, the group Hellenic Cables belongs to, says the work includes about 1,260 km of submarine cables and 30 km of underground cables, that the contract is worth approximately €1.5 billion and that completion is scheduled for 2030. The cables will be manufactured at the company's plants in Corinth and Thebes.

What comes next. Under ADMIE's investment plan, Rhodes and Karpathos will subsequently be connected directly to the high-voltage grid via Kos. The autonomous systems of smaller islands in the area will also be linked indirectly, among them Kasos, Halki, Symi, Kalymnos, Nisyros, Tilos, Leros, Lipsi and Patmos.

Context. Environment and Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou said the interconnection would reduce the islands' dependence on expensive oil-fired power plants and help lower public service obligation charges paid by all consumers in the country. ADMIE Chairman and CEO Manos Manousakis said it is the operator's second direct-current transmission project in recent years, after the Crete–Attica interconnection. According to ADMIE, the project is co-financed by a European Investment Bank loan and has been positively assessed for grants from the Islands Decarbonisation Fund and the Just Transition Mechanism.

Real-time data for the country are on the country page