Filenews 23 September 2025
With yesterday's intervention, through Energy Commissioner Pavlos Liasides, the Democratic Rally speaks of sloppiness within the Cyprus Transmission System Operator, as a result of which electricity producers, suppliers and consumers are faced with an unpleasant fait accompli.
Mr. Liasidis refers to the problem that exists in the Transmission Operator regarding the operation of the competitive electricity market from October 1st. As Fileleftheros wrote last week, 11 engineers of the System Control Center were called by the Administrator to perform parallel management duties of the Balancing Market, from 6 pm to the morning, as there is not enough staff for this work.
The engineers of the Control Center refused, citing the problems that will exist in the management of the smooth operation of the system and the country's electricity supply, if they undertake - at the same time - other duties related to the Electricity Market.
The statement of Mr. Liasidis is as follows:
"Sloppiness bring us once again before an unpleasant fait accompli. Where we are waiting after 22 years of waiting for the opening of the Competitive Energy Market on October 1st, two weeks before the critical date, we learn that we either forgot to hire, or we forgot to adequately train the employees who will run it.
It took us two decades to set rules, millions to buy and operate systems, repeated trial periods to check that everything would go well, dozens of new employees were hired on time and are being paid, but we forgot to train them! Result: 11 EAC employees are called to work overtime at night to do a job that is not their job. And the issue is neither a trade union nor a labour issue.
⦁ How can the TSOC be an independent and impartial entity, as defined by law, and operate the market with the employees of one of the competitors?
⦁ How is it possible for the employees of one of the competitors to be aware of vital and confidential information of the other market players, such as prices and liquidity, and even on time?
⦁ EAC employees are engineers, seconded to the TSOC for purely technical reasons. Not to operate the market, which is a purely commercial and economic activity.
⦁ The leak of such privileged and confidential information to the competition should normally be punished criminally, not to ask the employees of one player to manage it!
We call on the Commission for the Protection of Competition, as well as CERA, to intervene immediately to correct this distortion, so that the Competitive Electricity Market can start in two weeks smoothly."
