Filenews 12 July 2022 - by Chrysanthos Manolis
The Minister of Energy, Natasa Pilides, invited by "F" to comment on some different views that were made public about the promoted model of the competitive electricity market in Cyprus, on the occasion of the energy crisis in Europe and the "windfall profits" of producers from renewable energy sources, said that in the near future all aspects of the model will be discussed with the participation of ministry officials, CERA, the Cyprus Transmission System Operator (under whose management the competitive market will operate) and ETEK.
As she explained, ETEK has sent to CERA - with a notification, we understand, and to the Ministry of Energy - positions on the market model that is also being promoted in Cyprus in the coming months, expressing some reservations on certain aspects and submitting suggestions for amendments. These views of ETEK, the minister said, must be examined and answers must be given by CERA and TSOC, and this will be the subject of a working group that will work on it.
It is a fact that reactions to individual aspects of the competitive market model have intensified recently, as participants in the Cypriot energy sector, even within the EAC, believe that if the model is implemented as designed, it will not work in favour of reducing electricity costs for residential consumers and small and medium-sized enterprises. They argue that the model, as shown in recent months in other EU countries that follow it, favours super profits from power plants from renewable energy sources, something that motivated governments for extraordinary taxes or to impose a price cap on these technologies.
On the other hand, CERA points out that the operation of a competitive electricity market is an obligation of Cyprus towards the EU, which was undertaken years ago and is a political commitment that cannot be circumvented, except by a new political decision. In general, CERA argues that the specific model chosen is also an obligation of Cyprus, as it is the "target model" of the EU, which other countries follow and for which, the European Regulators' Organization (ACER) recently considered that, despite the current problems from the pandemic and the war, it works and performs.
However, the objections to the model are pan-European and recently forced the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to say that the market model must be reviewed.
