Minister underlines measures aimed at protecting society from energy crisis

The results of the Electricity Authority of Cyprus were presented during a press conference in Nicosia, in the presence of the Minister of Energy, Trade, and Industry, George Papanastasiou, who referred to the measures taken by the Government to protect the Authority.

In his address at the 27 June event, the Energy Minister said that the Government puts forward a series of measures to protect society from the energy crisis, noting that according to the latest data, the cost of these measures exceeded €440 million, of which 45% was allocated for the immediate relief of households and businesses.

George Papanastasiou said that the effort is to transform the crisis into opportunity, accelerating and intensifying the transition to the green economy, by initiating medium-term measures aimed at promoting self-production from renewable energy sources, the large-scale renovation of existing high energy-consuming homes, energy upgrading of businesses and the promotion of green energy in agricultural activities, such as irrigation.

The Energy Minister briefly outlined the Government's energy strategy, which revolves as he explained around three main pillars.

The first pillar puts the development of renewable energy at the center, in a sustainable and cost-effective way.

The second concerns the strengthening of energy security in all seasons, from the need for long-term sufficiency in electricity generation to ensuring the ability of network managers to successfully respond to the management of daily challenges due to an increase in uncontrolled production from renewable sources.

Finally, the third pillar concerns the support of vulnerable groups of the population, as well as the provision of appropriate incentives to households, businesses, and public bodies, to take advantage of the benefits arising from the self-production of renewable energy and their participation in energy communities, where they will be able to share the energy, they produce with other "active customers".

George Papanastasiou said that a significant part of financing the aforementioned projects will derive from European funds, noting at the same time that the Electricity Authority of Cyprus will receive a large percentage of these resources – around €120 million – to rapidly move forward in implementing the very critical infrastructure required for the country's energy transition.

Presenting EAC’s results for 2022, President of the Board of Directors, Despina Panayiotou Theodosiou, said that the total revenue of the EAC in 2022, after the removal of the special discount granted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, amounted to €1.327 billion.

The special discount granted to all EAC customers was approximately €7.8 million. Total expenses reached €1.305 billion with an operating profit of €21.8m and a net profit for the year of €12.9m. Improvement in results compared to the previous year was primarily a result of the restart of the economy after the recession due to the pandemic and the stabilization to some extent of fuel prices despite the war in Ukraine, but also the implementation of the new tariffs from June 2022. Despite the improvement in the results of the EAC, she said, operating profits remain lower than the ones permitted by regulations.

Operating expenses increased by approximately €416 million. This increase, she explained, is mainly due to the increase in the cost of fuel, the cost of purchasing greenhouse gas emission rights, and the cost of purchasing electricity from private producers of Renewable Energy Sources.

(Source: CNA)