Filenews 19 January 2023 - by Chrysanthos Manoli
From new information that becomes known, it follows that it will not be at all easy to convince the European Commission to approve, as it stands, Cyprus' request for an extension until 2028 of the operation of the six polluting steam turbines in Dhekelia, due to problems in the adequacy of electricity and the safety of the electrical system. This is because the Cypriot competent authorities appear to have difficulty in ensuring to the Commission that this derogation will be the last and that from 2028 the six steam turbines, which already from the beginning of 2022 operate in violation of the Industrial Pollutants Directive, will not operate.
The number of clarifications requested (until the end of January) by the Directorate General for the Environment of the EU from the Cypriot authorities (we wrote about it on 12/1/2023), regarding the substantiation of the request, is obviously related to the complexity of the issue but also to the not at all clear situation that exists as to the real ability of the Cypriot authorities to overcome the problems that make it impossible today to deactivate polluting units and to manage even in 2028 to put them out of business, as provided for in the new commitment to the Commission. The EU also wants to limit, if possible, the duration of the infringement of the Industrial Pollutants Directive or to find an alternative option in the same direction.
The Minister's concerns
From the minutes of an important interministerial meeting (Minister of Energy, Minister of Environment) that took place on 12/9/2022, in the presence of many officials and representatives of competent authorities (among them, CERA, Transmission Operator, EAC), it is clear that almost none of those who participated was sure that the problems in the security of the system can actually be overcome by 2028, in order to deactivate the problematic steam turbines of Dhekelia.
Indicative are the interventions made during the meeting by the Minister of Energy, when she found from the previous discussion that the promise to the EU to deactivate the steam turbines in 2028 (or 2029 or 2030, based on other scenarios that were examined but not finally adopted) is essentially based on assumptions and conditions whose implementation does not depend solely on the state and in any case is doubtful.
In particular, taking the floor after the technocrats cited the serious problems that exist for the operation of the electrical system without the units in Dhekelia (we wrote about it on 17/1/2023) and their assessment that these problems will be difficult to overcome by 2028, Natasa Pilides expressed concern. And she said, according to the minutes prepared by the Ministry of Energy: "The difficulties and uncertainties involved in all scenarios are many and the challenge is to find a credible way to present our request to the Eur. Committee. And they themselves will realize," the minister added, "that there are many challenges and real problems that cannot be questioned."
She continued: "I am concerned that for some of the problems there is no specific timetable and way to solve them. Any failure to implement any timetable for the actions included in each scenario will result in a longer delay in deactivating the six steam turbines in Dhekelia."
The interconnection with Crete...
At another point in the meeting, the Minister of Energy intervened again, to point out: "What is certain is that, both with the pessimistic scenario (ie in terms of the time of deactivation of the units) and with the optimistic scenario, many assumptions are made, which do not depend on us, e.g. the implementation of the interconnection (ie EuroAsia Interconnector) or the advent of natural gas or the implementation of investments by independent producers. I am of the opinion that we should go (to the EU) with the most realistic scenario."
Earlier in the discussion, the Energy Agency had filed, through its director, as a recommendation no. 1, that "with the data before us, there is no realistic possibility of deactivating the Dhekelia station before the year 2030". Subsequently, other suggestions were submitted by the service, for the possibility of a shorter deactivation, but with many difficulties and conditions for accelerating the removal of technical problems that affect the safety of the system and the adequacy of electricity.
It seems, through the minutes, that one of the key factors taken into account to determine 2028 as the year of deactivation of the six units is the planned operation, on 1/1/2028, of the electrical interconnection with Crete, something not at all certain, as shown through the discussion that preceded the meeting. The interface will help solve some problems in the security of the system, but it was mentioned that it is possible to do this in 2030. And in this case, if no other technical solutions to the problems are provided in the meantime, a new extension to the operation of Dhekelia will have to be requested.
One of the alternative or additional options under consideration is the installation of a new power plant, certainly not in the Vasilikos area, so as not to have problems with "short-circuit currents" or voltage, etc. It was mentioned that this unit could be installed in Dhekelia (apparently by the EAC) or in another area, in the central-eastern part of the system.
