EAC says it can meet record demand

THE Cyprus Electricity Authority (EAC) in the last few days recorded its highest ever demand for electricity by consumers attempting to escape the heat by keeping on their air conditioning units.

Following the recent blackout in Athens just one month before the Olympic games, there had been concern that the EAC might have trouble supplying the power needed to keep homes and offices cool. However, EAC spokesman Costas Gavrielides told the Cyprus Mail that the authority was capable of dealing with any power demand.

“On Tuesday we had the highest electricity demand ever recorded. It reached 821MW at 3.45pm. But the temperature is now lower and we don’t expect the demand to be that high again,” said Gavrielides.

He said a blackout was highly unlikely as the EAC had sufficient power.

“There is an insufficient power supply in the areas of Tseri, Trimiklini and Omonoia due to a lack of electrical sub-stations in the areas. This is because of a delay in receiving the licences,” said Gavrielides. However, he stressed that this does not mean there would be a blackout in these areas.

“There would only be a blackout if there was a malfunction and we don’t have the reliability, that is the sub-stations in these areas to backup a power failure,” explained Gavrielides.

He admitted that there had been some power cuts in Nicosia, but not due to insufficient power supply. “They have been malfunctions and we have had the electricity up and running in an hour,” he said.

Gavrielides said that they had all the equipment needed to meet the high demand of electricity and that no major problems were expected.

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.