The underwater section of the electricity interconnection between Crete and Attica has been completed

One of the most important milestones in the electricity interconnection project of Crete-Attica, the laying and installation of all the 500 kV direct current technology submarine cables, was successfully completed in the previous days by Independent Power Transmission Operator-IPTO’s subsidiary company Ariadnie Interconnection.

As highlighted, within 32 months of the signing of the contracts for the large energy project, in June 2020, Ariadne Interconnection laid a total of approximately 1,350 km of electric cables and optical fiber cables between Korakia, Heraklion and Pachi Megara. The depth of the installation at the bottom of the Aegean reached up to 1,200 meters from the sea surface, while the weight of the cables exceeds 40 kg per meter.

With the completion of the cable protection works, expected in the second quarter of 2023, 640 km will have been laid below the seabed surface for maximum safety.

The casting of the electrical cable sections was carried out in stages from the end of 2021 to the beginning of 2023, in the context of three different operations by the two contracting companies of the project.

For these operations, which had particularly high technical requirements, a total of five specialized cable work vessels were used, including the two most modern cable laying vessels in the world, Aurora and Leonardo da Vinci.

For the successful laying of the submarine cables, from October 2020 to May 2021, a thorough seabed study by the contracting companies Prysmian and Nexans was preceded, and the optimal routing and protection of the cables was planned with both technical and environmental criteria.

The electrical interconnection of Crete with Attica is the largest energy investment, amounting to 1 billion euros, currently being carried out in the country, with which IPTO will fully integrate Crete into the continental electricity transmission system, by the end of 2024.