A delay in the delivery of fuel, used for power generation, resulted in a disruption to the supply of electricity in the occupied areas on Thursday, Vrahimis Koutsoloukas, spokesperson for the Transmission System Operator Cyprus (TSOC), told the Cyprus News Agency.
Depending on availability, the supply is expected to resume today, Koutsoloukas noted.
Responding to questions concerning reports in the Turkish Cypriot media about power outages in the occupied areas, Koutsoloukas explained that the Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) had notified them the day before that adverse weather conditions might lead to fuel delivery complications. Consequently, this could result in limitations in meeting electricity demand in the areas controlled by the Republic of Cyprus and in delivering power to the occupied territories.
Koutsoloukas highlighted that, following an evaluation of the situation, the supply of electricity to the occupied areas was suspended on Wednesday around midday. After the latest assessment, it was deemed feasible to restore the electricity supply on Thursday, albeit on a restricted scale. This would be done while continually assessing the fuel situation on a daily basis.
He further explained that if fuel delivery delays were anticipated, it was necessary to implement precautionary measures to ensure meeting the demand.
Koutsoloukas also assured that there were no issues in fulfilling the electricity requirements in the unrestricted regions of the Republic of Cyprus.
Regarding the electricity volume supplied to the occupied areas, Koutsoloukas said that daily planning was in place. Depending on the demand and availability, technical consultations determined the quantum of electricity provided at any given time. This allocation varied throughout the day.
The TSOC’s spokesperson clarified that the provision of electricity to the occupied areas of Cyprus was part of confidence-building measures aimed at reciprocally supplying energy as needed, and compensating for this by returning the equivalent amount of energy.
He added that there had been recent instances of escalated energy needs in the occupied areas, leading to the decision to arrange for payments due to the substantial amount of power supplied to the other side.