In an announcement on 11th December, the Independent Power Transmission Operator (ADMIE) stated that over €700 million have been saved to date from the electrical connection of Crete with the Peloponnese. This means that the cost of the project has been amortised twice over in the space of just 4 1/2 years. According to the announcement, the first connection of Crete with the mainland system came online in July 2021, and since then has to a large extent replaced local generation by thermal units which run on diesel, with relatively low output, increased operating costs and higher pollutant emissions.