THE EAC yesterday proposed a series of measures to the Labour Ministry to help businesses and industries conserve energy.
The island got a stern reminder on Thursday that the energy crisis was far from over when a series of breakdowns in secondary sources of supply resulted in numerous outages islandwide.
Two units in Moni power station broke down, a power plant in the north experienced problems and also, it emerged yesterday that an additional unit broke down in Dhekelia.
This put the EAC’s grid under tremendous pressure with parts of the island experiencing up to four power outages in one day on Thursday.
Supply was improved yesterday with the restoration of the malfunctioning unit at Moni and increased supply from the north allowing the EAC to cut power just once yesterday.
Commerce Minister Antonis Paschalides informed parliament yesterday that Greece had started sending out ships carrying generators, with a collective capacity of 70MW.
Meanwhile, the authorities in the occupied north informed the government that increased demands meant they would be gradually reducing supply to 40MW.
Total capacity yesterday reached 670MW with an additional 70MW from the north.
The EAC is urging the public to conserve as much energy as possible.
Earlier EAC officials met Labour Minister Sotiroula Charalambous as well as unions and employers’ representatives.
The authority suggested that industries, including construction, freeze works for the whole of August and introduce an afternoon siesta.
There was a “general consensus” to adopt an August hiatus said Charalambous.
She said the Labour Ministry would start meetings on Monday with different sectors “to see how this measure can be practically enforced.”
Commenting on an afternoon siesta, Charalambous said that it was possible for businesses to apply this measure but raised worries over the EAC’s inability to provide a schedule for power outages.
“If we have (a siesta) between 1pm and 5pm then we must have a constant electricity supply for the rest of the time our shops are open,” small shopkeepers’ union POVEK’s Stefanos Koursaris said.
The EAC however is still not in a position to streamline a schedule for power outages.
Director of the Transmission System Operator Christos Christodoulides said,
“There are no reserves. When you don’t have reserves and you’re balancing on a tightrope, you’re not able to put together a schedule.”
But though the EAC can’t yet guarantee a schedule, business owners may be happy to hear that the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KEVE) has secured a temporary lift of a tax levy on the price of diesel used to fuel business-owned generators.
The tax amounted to 33 cents per litre, a 25 per cent add-on on diesel prices.
Businesses using up more than 30MW each year per premise are now exempt.
KEVE’s Manthos Mavromatis said the measure would help businesses and “contribute to unburdening the EAC’s load.”
