Filenews 31 July 2024
In recent days, there has been discussion in Cyprus about the relationship that China Petroleum Pipelines (CPP), which unsuccessfully undertook in 2019 the construction of the Vasilikos natural gas dehydration terminal (and unilaterally terminated the contract in July '24), and the also Chinese company State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC), which is a 24% shareholder (but with more influence than its participation indicates) in IPTO, may have between them. the implementing body of the electricity interconnection between Cyprus and Crete.
They are both state-owned companies of China. Apart from that, there is currently no other special relationship between the two. This is what a competent government source told us.
ADMIE itself, on its website, characterizes State Grid as "a strategic investor with a 24% stake since 2017".
It is a huge Chinese state-owned electricity company, specializing in the construction, development and operation of electricity transmission and distribution networks. It was founded on December 29, 2002, is considered the largest utility company in the world and consistently ranks 2nd in the Fortune Global 500.
As of March 2024, State Grid is the world's fourth-largest company overall by revenue (about $460 billion), behind Walmart, Saudi Aramco and Amazon. It is estimated to have around 900,000 employees, although online there are reports of a much larger number.
Its website says it provides energy to more than 1.1 billion people in China's 26 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, covering 88% of the national territory. The company also owns and manages assets abroad: in the Philippines, Greece, Brazil, Portugal, Australia, Italy, Oman, Chile, Pakistan, etc.
According to energymag.gr, the State Grid Corporation of China has increased its planned investments for 2024 to a record $82.7 billion to strengthen transmission lines from the main centers of renewable energy production to demand hubs.
The company has recently increased its 2024 budget by 13%, according to Economic Information Daily, as reported by Bloomberg.
It is worth noting that when on June 20, 2017 the agreements for the transfer of 24% of ADMIE to State Grid were signed, the then (during the SYRIZA government) Minister of Environment and Energy of Greece, George Stathakis, had stated that the transition to the target model (the competitive market model in the EU, which will also be applied in Cyprus at the end of '25 or in 2026) is played by cross-border electricity interconnections. In addition to existing interconnections with Italy, Bulgaria, FYROM, Turkey and Albania, there are plans for new, wider, cable interconnections with Cyprus and Israel. Greece's ultimate goal is to become a major energy transit hub in Southeast Europe, for security of supply and the supply of cheaper energy."
