The non-existence of electricity sufficiency in Cyprus was known and denounced by many technocrats, EAC trade unionists and other energy players for at least 2-3 years, even though the Electricity Transmission Operator reassured that the demand was being met and will become... marginally.
Even if CERA did not activate the provision of the legislation (Article 34 of the Law on Electricity) for an emergency search, through offers from any interested party, for additional electricity production. The authorities were waiting, from year to year, for the arrival of natural gas in a half-finished terminal and the... electrical interconnection.
Last night, as last year at this time, the demand was not met even marginally. Luck didn't help this time either. And the Transmission Operator proceeded with rotating power cuts to households and businesses, lasting 20-30 minutes. until about 8.30 pm. In heat wave temperatures and in conditions of orange warning from the Meteorological Service.
The risk of a repetition of power cuts is still high today. In the EAC, efforts to repair faults in units in Vasilikos and Dhekelia continue and if the efforts do not bear fruit, it is almost certain that we will have alternating power outages tonight as well. The information stated yesterday that two units will be given for use and there will be no problem tonight, but it is something we will see within the day.
The chances of returning even one or two units to production are many, but no one can rule out the possibility of another failure, given that some of the units, especially in Dhekelia, are in a bad mess and are about 50 years old.
The deficit early last night between production and consumption was about 25 megawatts. Wind farms, which had a very small contribution (about 20 megawatts around 8 p.m.) to production, did not help at dusk either.
The large production of energy from photovoltaics during the hours of sunshine ensures adequate management of demand during peak hours until 6 pm. Things get tough when photovoltaics start to turn off and in the absence of electricity storage, the electrical system depends on EAC units.
Which paid about €160 million for the 6th combined cycle unit in Vassiliko but cannot use it because natural gas cannot be imported. Just as private PEC (200-260 megawatts) cannot operate its units because it is not fully licensed and because there is no natural gas available.
Under these conditions, neither today nor in the coming days, given that the temperature will remain around 40 degrees, the smooth electricity supply of the country is ensured.
Something that, we repeat, has been widely known for at least 2-3 years, without the authorities declaring the alarm and making urgent decisions to increase production capacity. They were waiting for natural gas and electricity interconnection...
