Filenews 5 November 2023 - by Chrysanthos Manoli
The crisis – probably on a personal level – caused between officials of the Ministry of Energy and the EAC management is moving towards normalization and already the two sides have arranged, for Tuesday, a new meeting at the Authority's headquarters, during which they will try to conduct the dialogue they failed to promote in their previous meeting. on Saturday, October 14.
We remind you that on that day the Minister of Energy, the General Director of the Ministry and competent officials gathered at EAC headquarters, on the one hand, and the President and members of the EAC Board of Directors, the General Manager and other executives of the management structure. The meeting was requested by the minister in order to discuss important open issues in the operation and development of the organization and, if possible, to initiate decisions.
However, the atmosphere created by the very early stages of the meeting was not constructive, with the result that the meeting was interrupted ingloriously and the minister and his colleagues left.
A rather Cold War climate followed, with EAC attributing the departure of the minister and his associates to their reluctance to discuss while keeping minutes and George Papanastasiou refuting.
In the meantime, efforts have been made to restore relations between the main protagonists, something that has been achieved to some extent. Hence new understandings and it was agreed that the meeting would take place next Tuesday 7 November.
It is assumed that the meeting will deal with the serious problem of understaffing of EAC, which, according to members of the management and management, but mainly of the trade unions, prevents the organization from fulfilling its mission and promoting its development program, with emphasis on the expansion and modernization of networks and the further utilization of electricity from RES from EAC Generation, in order to bring about a reduction in the average cost of electricity production for all customers.
It is also certain that the worrying development surrounding the installation of 400,000 smart meters, a project that is developing into a resounding failure for EAC, will be discussed.
"F" reports that although EAC signed a contract at the end of August with a contractor to start supplying and installing the meters from next March, there was a problem in accepting an alternative model, resulting in the EAC Board of Directors deciding to cancel the contract and award the project to CYTA, which had bid in the initial tender. The decision of EAC led the successful bidder to appeal, very recently, to the courts and a new painful and long delay is now very likely.
The station in Dhekelia
Among the burning issues for EAC – and the state – is the reconstruction – modernization of the Dhekelia power station, the operation of which is of critical importance for the entire electrical system of the country. The ministry supports the replacement of obsolete units in Dhekelia, which operate in violation of EU legislation on pollutant emissions, and the installation of an energy storage station.
However, information indicates that EAC is concerned about the cost of this investment (around 250-300 million euros, according to unofficial calculations), as well as its financial viability, given the increase in the penetration of photovoltaics in production and consumption and the promoted electricity interconnection with the Greek grid.