On the evening of Wednesday, August 15, rolling blackouts occurred on the island. They were caused by problems at power plants, which often occur during the summer season.
The transmission system operator reported that at 18:03 a technical fault occurred in one 54-megawatt production unit at the Vasiliko power plant. As a result, the station could not fully meet the demand for electricity, which caused power outages in different areas of Cyprus.
The Cyprus News Agency also reported that at 17:29 problems also occurred in one production unit of the power plant in Dhekelii. However, power outages were avoided.
After two production units were disabled, wind farms saved the day. Evening hours are especially effective for generating electricity from wind energy.
However, the press representative of the Electricity Transmission System Operator, Hara Kushappa, emphasized that the electricity supply system is at its maximum capacity. Consumers are therefore urged to use electricity sparingly in the evening, especially between 6:00 pm and 10:00 pm, which is considered the peak hour for demand.
Meanwhile, in the territory of the TRNC, electric companies, in principle, cannot cope with the demand for electricity. Kib-Tek and AKSA do not produce enough electricity, and rolling blackouts regularly occur in the summer. From June 2023 to June 2024, demand increased by 45%.
Electricity company Kib-Tek buys from 10 to 30 megawatts of electricity from the Cyprus Electricity Authority every day at a price of 15 Turkish lira per 1 kilowatt. Producing its own electricity costs the company 9-10 liras per 1 kilowatt, and therefore the price for purchasing electricity from the Republic of Cyprus is too high and entails an increase in the Kib-Tek tariff.
The text was prepared based on materials from “Sigma” and “Philelephtheros”
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The Cyprus Electricity Authority is launching a major project. It involves the construction of electricity storage systems, which will help out in case of unstable operation of alternative sources. More details here.
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