Filenews 12 March 2025
The EAC Board of Directors decided last night, after a marathon meeting, that the installation of new generators at Dhekelia Power Station as soon as possible is urgent.
The adequacy of electricity for the summer of 2025 is in question and huge efforts will be needed by EAC staff and the Transmission Operator – as well as consumer cooperation – to avoid disconnections of households and businesses, but the problems will be greater in 2026 and beyond, if in the meantime conventional production from EAC does not increase substantially. to cover the ever-increasing consumption in hours not produced by renewable energy systems.
Given the Government's position, as expressed by the President of the Republic and the Minister of Energy, that it is a sine qua non for EAC to support electricity production, the Board of Directors of the Electricity Authority concluded last night, after consultations with the Treasury (competent authority for public procurement) and its legal advisor on the decision cancel the tender for the installation of new generators at the Dhekelia plant, for a production of at least 80 megawatts, but use the discretion provided by law to continue negotiating with bidders in search of an agreement.
What is expected under this decision is the start of a new round of negotiations between EAC and the Greek TERNA and the also Greek AVACS, in order to overcome the many technical discrepancies found between the offers and the terms included by EAC in the tender.
EAC, in consultation with the Treasury and its legal advisor, decided not to re-announce the tender (given the loss of valuable time) and to choose to proceed with a new round of negotiations with the bidders, because, according to Fileleftheros' information, it was considered that the technical deviations are not material and become manageable. within the framework of the dialogue provided for and permitted by law.
There is no official information about the deviations and their severity. However, the fact that the Treasury gave the green light for an extension of the negotiation suggests that it is possible to avoid a complete deadlock and end up awarding a bid – out of the three proposals submitted to EAC – in March or April.
We remind you that TERNA offered two Siemens machines for €107 million. The Greek AVAX also offered Siemens machines, but for about €137 million. A third proposal is before EAC, from TERNA, for three General Electric generators, costing €148 million. It is not clear whether the subsequent negotiation will also concern the prices proposed by the bidders or only the technical deviations from the technical terms of the tender,
