Filenews 5 January 2023 - by Dora Christodoulou
The phenomenon of illegal reception and use of electricity by hundreds of foreign households takes on very serious dimensions that now also affect the proper functioning of the EAC system. As PafosNet reveals today, the phenomenon has reached explosive proportions, with the crews of the Electricity Authority being asked to cut off the illegal electricity supply in certain areas, refusing to go to them without the police escort, while even worse cases were recorded when the police officers present could not protect the crews due to the massive attack on them by dozens of angry foreigners.
The problem with the theft, essentially, of electricity from foreigners waiting for the examination of their applications in order to receive political asylum, has gotten out of control in the areas of Chlorakas and Tremithousa, where the two largest organized camps for these people operate, while an alarming increase is also occurring in the area of Emba. A competent source told PafosNet yesterday that after the frequent attacks on EAC officials who went with instructions to cut off the illegal electricity supply to residential complexes, the crews decided to do so only accompanied by a police force.
In this case too, however, incidents were recorded by large numbers of angry foreigners with the few police officers accompanying the Authority's employees unable to intervene effectively and, in order to avoid the worst, calling on the crews to restore the benefits, albeit illegal, so that they could leave these peculiar "ghettos" unharmed.
The illegal connection of premises to the network continues even in areas where EAC itself was forced to shut down its substations. Typical is, according to our sources in question, the case of the well-known settlement in Chloraka, in which dozens of apartments continue to be illegally electrified, even if the substation that served this complex was abolished by the EAC itself.
"Now, the illegal users of the network", officials stressed, "have managed to transfer electricity to the illegally used premises from other substations, while cases are already recorded where thefts are made from the premises of residents who are legal users of the Authority's network".
As a result of the huge extent of the problem in specific areas, they concluded, already during this period, failures in the electricity network of EAC began, such as the one that occurred a few days ago in the wider area of Chlorakas.
They called on the authorities and especially the Police to take specific measures to strengthen its patrols and the escort of the teams that attempt to remove these illegalities, since the image given to date is that of an unfortified state that is prey to the illegalities of anyone.
