IPTO announced that the vision of covering all the electrical loads of Crete without thermal production by local units has been fully realized, marking the definitive extinguishment of the chimneys of the power plants that operated on fossil fuels. As of Wednesday, December 17, 2025, the island's total consumption is supplied exclusively with electricity transported from the mainland, through the two electrical interconnections with Attica and the Peloponnese.
According to the Operator, the two interconnections, combined with the clean energy produced on the island, have fully covered the demand in recent days. As pointed out, with the operation of IPTO's automatic control systems, the changes in the load of Crete are mainly served by the new Crete-Attica interconnector, while the energy flow on the interconnection with the Peloponnese is kept stable, so that it is available for immediate backup power supply, if required.
Decommissioning local fossil fuel stations means net savings of €400-600 million per year over a decade for all consumers. The benefit arises mainly from the reduction of PSO charges, taking into account both the costs of keeping the units in cold reserve and the System Usage Charges associated with the operation of the interconnections.
It is recalled that the economic benefits from the Crete-Peloponnese interconnection, which since 2021 has largely replaced local conventional electricity production, already amount to €700 million.
The Crete electricity interconnection project, the largest electricity transmission project implemented to date in Greece by IPTO and its subsidiary Ariadne Interconnection, enhances the island's energy security, upgrades the quality of life and the tourism product, while offering significant environmental benefits, with a reduction in CO₂ emissions by 500,000 tons per year.
