EPPO urged to probe interconnector

The European public prosecutor’s office (EPPO) should investigate the processes behind the Great Sea Interconnector (GSI), House energy and commerce committee Chairman Kyriacos Hadjiyiannis said on Friday.

He also said an urgent meeting had been called next Tuesday, during which the committee expected to be fully briefed so as to discuss the two hot energy topics of natural gas supply (LNG) to the island, as well as the latest developments affecting the GSI project.

The meeting is deemed crucial enough to convene despite the customary parliamentary summer recess.

The MP, who earlier in the week accused various state actors, including the EU commission, of exercising inappropriate pressure on the Cyprus energy regulatory authority (Cera), clarified that he was not against the project, but that if the EPPO should decide to investigate, “it would be beneficial to see how the management of the process was being conducted.”

Speaking on CyBC’s morning programme, Hadjiyiannis reiterated his claim that stakeholders, including Energy Minister George Papanastasiou, had pressed Cera to rethink its decision for Cypriot consumers to be exempted from having a tariff levied on them a priori, to help cover a gap in the project’s funding, to the tune of €100-€150 million.

Earlier, the energy minister had taken issue with the Disy MP calling out his involvement in this way. He said no undue pressure had been exerted and challenged the MP to provide evidence.

Hadjiyiannis responded, saying, “It’s not my role to provide the evidence. In public statements the minister called for a re-examination [of the decision]. Why should [he] do this? He should be careful, especially when dealing with independent authorities.”

Hadjiyiannis again charged that there was an absence of clear planning on behalf of the state and that no tangible commitments had been procured from CSI stakeholders.

“The two subcontractors, Nexans [who is it to provide the cable] and Siemens [who is to build the substations] have not provided risk assessment, timeframes, costs and [exact] specifications,” the MP said.

As far the stalled Vasiliko LNG terminal project, Hadjiyiannis stated emphatically that it was inconceivable for the island to do without it.

“We will not accept it. Cyprus cannot exist without natural gas,” he said.

Prompted with the fact that the Chinese-led consortium in charge (CMC) may refuse to handover Prometheas, the floating storage and re-gasification unit (Frsu), and the news that the state was exploring “alternate scenarios” such as leasing a unit, Handjiyiannis charged that this was not a serious option.

 “The ministry can’t keep making vague claims instead of planning,” he said.

The MP appeared to indirectly hint at the possibility that the face-off between the state and the provider still stood a chance of being partially reversed, saying, “I don’t consider anything conclusive.”