European Commission annuls Cretan interconnection concession to ADMIE

The European Commission considers the Regulatory Authority for Energy's (RAE) decision for the concession of mainland Greece's electricity interconnection with Crete to the Independent Power Transmission Operator (ADMIE) to be invalid.

Just two days after the decision and the immediate setup by ADMIE of a special-purpose company called Ariadni International to undertake the project, Brussels informed all parties involved that according to European law RAE cannot make a direct concession before end-2018, even if Greece chooses to proceed with it as a national project.

This was largely expected as RAE made its decision without asking Brussels first.