Blackout fears over generator delays

CYPRUS could be facing a summer of blackouts with delays still occurring in the operation of a third generator that was due to be up and running by now.

Contractors started work on the generator at the Vassilikos power station between Larnaca and Limassol about two years ago. The work was carried out by Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) contractors and was due to be finished by mid-June.

Costas Gavrielides, EAC assistant commercial manager, said the delays had occurred “due to technical reasons, but the contractors have assured us that everything will be ready in a maximum of one-and-a-half months.”

He added that, “we can never exclude the possibility of blackouts occurring, but that doesn’t mean they will definitely happen. People shouldn’t worry as the possibility is quite remote.”
It’s feared that the delay could cause a critical situation in the peak months of July and August, when electricity is gobbled-up by air conditioning units, if the maximum 880 megawatts is exceeded.

Gavrielides explained that blackouts occur “when there is insufficient generator capacity or insufficient transmission sub-stations. However, what worries us most is not the delay in the generator but the delays in securing building permits for various transmission sub-stations and lines. We are currently waiting for approval on four to five permits which will hopefully be issued by involved town and housing planning departments.”

Five years ago, overloaded EAC equipment exploded in a major transmission sub-station near the utility’s Nicosia headquarters. At least a third of the capital lost power on two successive days in temperatures officially recorded at 43.7 degrees Celsius.

Gavrielides said the accident happened as “Nicosia Municipality delayed too long before issuing a building permit for a new sub-station which was required.”

The EAC has approximately 50 transmission stations and 10,000 distribution sub-stations on the island.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.