Energy supply ‘sufficient to meet demand’ as temperatures soar

Cyprus’ electricity supply is sufficient to meet demand amid soaring temperatures, transmission system operator (TSO) spokeswoman Chara Kousiappa said on Saturday.

Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency, she said production is expected to be sufficient both during the day and during the night, with daytime demand higher, but nighttime production reduced due to a lower output from renewable sources.

She said that during peak hours, which are typically between 2pm and 4pm, the forecast for the country’s whole demand is between 1,030 and 1,050 megawatts.

The TSO had said earlier that as of midday, the country’s electricity demand was 1,002 megawatts, and that this was covered by 513 megawatts of production from solar panels, 480 megawatts from conventional generation, and nine from windfarms.

She added that during evening peaks, typically between 7pm and 7.30pm, the TSO covers demand through conventional energy “to ensure sufficiency”, given that production from solar panels drops off when the sun goes down.

Kousiappa’s reassurances come after the Republic had earlier in the year been rendered unable to fulfil electrical needs after a fault occurred at the Dhekelia power station during a period of high demand brought about by abnormally cold weather.

Electricity can generally be procured by either of Cyprus’ two sides from the other via the two points at which the grids are interconnected, in the Nicosia suburb of Athalassa and in the village of Orounta, near Morphou.

The north’s electricity grid completely collapsed on Friday after an explosion at a substation near Morphou.

Kib-Tek, the north’s electricity authority, said the explosion had occurred inside the substation’s central circuit breakers and caused “serious damage” to the substation’s transformer.

As such, it said, both of the north’s power stations, the Teknecik power station near Kyrenia and the Kalecik power station in the village of Galatia, near Trikomo, were automatically taken out of service for safety reasons.

Early on Friday morning, Kib-Tek workers’ trade union El-Sen leader Ahmet Tugcu explained that the explosion had caused the entire grid to shut itself down.

He said that because of this, it would have been impossible for the north to acquire electricity from the electricity authority (EAC) because there would be no system for that electricity to be fed into.

While Kib-Tek had announced late on Friday night that power had been restored across the north, reports persisted of power cuts in various areas of the north throughout Saturday, while other knock-on effects to the north’s infrastructure, including to its water supply, continued to be felt.