Four trade unions representing Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) staff have suspended planned industrial action until September 2026, citing the difficult conditions currently affecting the island’s electricity system.
In a joint statement, EPOPAI, SIDIKEK, SEPAIK and SIVAIK said they regretted the inconvenience caused to the public by periodic power cuts.
The rotating cuts were implemented nationwide on Wednesday, July 22, after the National Energy Control Centre proceeded with controlled, rotating rejection of consumer load, according to a subsequent announcement by the Transmission System Operator Cyprus (TSOC).
The TSOC said the duration of the outage for each consumer group did not exceed 22 minutes.
| Group | Cut-off time | Restoration time | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18:52 | 19:13 | 0:21 |
| 2 | 18:54 | 19:16 | 0:22 |
| 3 | 19:13 | 19:34 | 0:21 |
| 4 | 19:36 | 19:54 | 0:18 |
| 5 | 20:02 | 20:21 | 0:19 |
The TSOC said the measure was necessary because of particularly high temperatures and the resulting increase in electricity demand. It said the situation was compounded by unexpected faults at conventional production units, which limited the system’s available generating capacity.
The rotating load shedding was applied to balance production with demand, with system stability as the absolute priority, the TSOC said, adding that affected areas corresponding to each group can be found on the EAC website.
According to an EAC update, the repair of two production units with a combined capacity of 165 MW is expected to be completed today, Thursday, July 23, 2026. If they return to operation smoothly, demand is expected to be fully covered while maintaining the system’s necessary reserves, the update said.
The unions attributed the power cuts to what they called “state negligence” and the inability of independent institutions to secure adequate electricity supply. They said, however, that EAC staff were continuing efforts to repair faults at production units and on distribution and transmission networks without interruption.
The unions said that at a meeting on Wednesday with the Energy Minister and the Deputy Minister to the President, the government side acknowledged the validity of the unions’ positions. They said, however, that the government came to the meeting without substantive proposals or solutions to the issues raised.
The unions said they raised three main issues at the meeting: the adequacy of electricity supply, the security of energy supply, and reducing the cost of electricity for consumers.
They said recent developments had confirmed warnings they had been raising for years over the state of the electricity system, adding that EAC staff could not remain indifferent to what they described as inaction that sustains energy insecurity and places a financial burden on citizens.
The unions called on the state to take the necessary decisions, even if belatedly, and to proceed with the actions required to secure electricity adequacy, supply security and lower costs.