THE DEMAND for electricity is finally stabilising and supply is more than adequate to cover current needs unless something unforeseen occurs.
Director of the Transmission System Operator (TSO) Christos Christodoulides told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) yesterday that demand had stabilised at around 845 MW while capacity stands at 920MW.
“We hope that the situation will continue like this,” he said
Christodoulides further said the generators that arrived in the second container from the US, as part of the agreement signed by the Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) with Energy International, have not yet been connected to the EAC’s network.
These generators have a 35MW capacity and are scheduled to be installed at the Moni Power Plant.
The TSO said as temperatures go down, demand will lessen.
However Christodoulides appealed to the public to continue efforts to save electricity.
Meanwhile it was announced yesterday that supply from the north would continue for another six months.
The agreement was signed on Monday by associate of the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry, economist Costas Apostolides, as a private individual and provider and is based on the EU Council Green Line Regulation.
In statements to CNA, Apostolides said that an agreement was signed on Friday between himself, as a private individual and provider, and the Electricity Authority Cyprus (EAC), while another agreement was signed with the Turkish Cypriot electricity provider.
Apostolides said that the agreement provides for supply for six months, until February 2012. The daily available power from the occupied areas could reach 120 MW.
The Planning Bureau said yesterday it would submit a claim for financial assistance from the EU solidarity fund for the loss of the Vassilikos power plant by September 19, which is the deadline. The solidarity fund is generally allocated only in the case of natural disasters. However Planning Bureau director Giorgos Georgiou said it could also be given to member states when a significant number of the population was affected by a disaster.
There are also funds for assistance to countries facing problems in the energy sector but this would be the first time such an application was made to the EU for the specific aid.
”We are talking about uncharted area, we’ll see what we can do,” said Georgiou. ‘There is no guarantee but we will try.”
The Cypriot claim will include the €49 million the government is giving to the EAC to help offset the 6.96 per cent hike in the price of electricity to consumers as a result of paying for generators. Georgiou said the government would be seeking “the maximum that it could” in aid from the bloc.
The House Watchdog Committee also called yesterday on the EAC to submit details of its financials and its plans for the short to mid-term, saying it was in the public interest.
DISY MP Haris Georgiades said that after the July 11 explosion, the viability of the EAC was no longer a given, and deputies wanted to be clear on its priorities and in particular its plans for cost cutting.
“It just might be time to take serious decisions and radical measures, not excluding the possibility of seeking a strategic investor,” he said.
