Filenews 19 January 2025 - by Chrysanthos Manoli
The green light that EAC is awaiting from the Ministry of Energy for the acceptance or rejection of the financial proposals received from construction companies for the two gas turbines it wants to install at Dhekelia station remains pending, in order to safely satisfy the supply of electricity to consumers and address fears for the balance of the system. due to dependence on production in Vasilikos.
"F" is informed that the Ministry of Energy has not taken a position towards EAC, as it is awaiting the position of the European Commission (Directorate General for Energy) on whether the financing of the two generators by all electricity consumers (and not only EAC customers) through the charge for Public Utility Services (PSO) would be compatible with the acquis.
The Ministry of Energy has had some preliminary contacts with the European Commission, with the latter appearing cautious about burdening all consumers through PSOs. In order for the ministry to have a final and official position from the EU Directorate General for Energy, it sent a new letter, through which it lists all the data, explains the importance of upgrading the generators in Dhekelia to increase production, reduce production costs and stability of the system and is now waiting for a response from Brussels.
In case the estimates that the EU will not approve the financing of the two generators through the Public Utilities (about half to one cent per kilowatt hour) are confirmed, then it is likely that the Cyprus Transmission System Operator (TSO) will be asked to tender among any interested producer in order to select the cheapest proposal for the two generators and not to raise the issue of state aid to EAC.
In such a case, however, it will inevitably cause another significant delay and it will be doubtful whether there will be interest from private individuals to install generators for conventional diesel production in the southeastern part of the system (where no natural gas transport is foreseen for the next few years at least), while for several months of the year there is overproduction of energy (noon and early afternoon) and rejection of production from photovoltaic systems.
The waiting for a final installation by the European Commission and the reluctance of EAC to bear the cost (approximately €140 million) for two generators that will operate as backup – support in peak periods and high demand, with anxious payback in about 25 years, keep intact the concerns about power adequacy problems in the summer of 2025 and 2026.
The Minister of Energy in a letter has asked CERA and the Transmission Operator to inform him soon about their current forecasts for electricity demand in the summer of 2025 and the next 2-3 years and the potential of conventional production to meet demand in peak seasons and hours, given the arrival of natural gas and the utilization of the new units in Vasilikos (6th EAC unit and PEC combined cycle) They will not be able to be exploited (400-420 megawatts of capacity) unless the regasification of natural gas starts at the terminal.
