Filenews 23 July 2022 - by Vassos Vassiliou
Until 2014, the Electricity Authority continued to electrify occupied communities where Turkish Cypriots lived, while since 2016 EAC has only been electrifying Pyla.
The above are recorded in response to the Minister of Energy, Natasa Pilides, to a question by MP Pavlos Mylonas.
In the same answer, it is stated that for 2021 the value of unpriced electricity amounts to €671,000 and in 2020 the uncharged electricity to €538,000.
Mrs. Pilides, in response to a question by Mr. Mylonas as to who pays for what EAC provides from time to time in the occupied areas, as happened relatively recently, clarifies that there is no financial transaction of any kind for the quantities of energy exchanged.
She explains that the arrangement is made through energy offsetting, that is, when energy is given by one part of the System, it is recorded and then at the first opportunity the relevant quantity is returned by the other party.
Regarding the question "who gave the order for the power supply?", the minister says that the exchange of energy between the two parts of the System can be either automatic (due to the fact that the two parts of the Electrical System operate synchronously, in cases of failure, either in one part or in the other, there is an energy exchange caused by the automatic reaction of the Production Units) or planned, upon request. In case of a planned supply to the part of the System within the occupied areas, the relevant request is submitted by representatives of the Turkish Cypriot side to the TSOC, which, after examining whether the energy supply requested is technically feasible, addresses CERA for approval of the request.
Answering the question as to whether the networks of free areas and occupied areas are permanently connected, the Minister informed Mr. Mylonas that two parts of the Electrical System have been reconnected on a permanent basis in 2016 in the context of the implementation of the Confidence Building Measures.
Finally, in response to another question, he states:
"A number of occupied communities where Turkish Cypriots lived continued for a number of years to be electrified by the system of free areas until about 2014, while today the only community that remains is Pyla. A small amount of electricity is supplied in the area of Pyla to premises of Turkish Cypriot property to which the EAC does not have access and therefore cannot record consumption. For 2021, the value of unpriced electricity amounts to €671,000 and in 2020 the unpriced electricity to €538,000.
