Future of undersea electricity cable linking Greece, Cyprus and Israel will be decided next month

abcnews.go.com:

Cyprus' energy minister says the future of an electricity cable linking the power grids of Greece, Cyprus and Israel will be settled next month

NICOSIA, Cyprus — The future of an electricity cable linking the power grids of Greece, Cyprus and Israel will be cleared up next month when a ruling is expected on whether Cypriot consumers would pick up the tab for the cable's four-year construction costs, Cyprus' energy minister said Thursday.

Officials have said the 1.9-billion-euro ($2.06 billion) cable, known as the Great Sea Interconnector, would end the energy isolation of both the east Mediterranean island nation and Israel while promising consumers cheaper energy through the conveyance of more power generated from renewable energy sources (RES). The European Union is partly financing the project with 657 million euros.

The Greek project operator, the Independent Power Transmission Operator, or IPTO, initially made it a condition that construction costs should be borne by Cypriot taxpayers to make the project viable and, in turn, attract investors. That was turned down by the Cypriot energy regulator, CERA.

Minister George Pananastasiou said Thursday the regulator will render its definitive ruling on Aug. 12.

According to Pananastasiou, IPTO's calculations which it has submitted to CERA to reconsider its decision show that the additional burden for Cypriot consumers over the four-year construction period would be minimal, at 0.6 of one euro cent per kilowatt hour of energy consumption.

Already 40-50 kilometers (25-31 miles) of cable has been laid along the Mediterranean seabed as part of the project's first phase connecting the Greek island of Crete with Cyprus. Cypriot consumers will benefit almost immediately from a