A likely delay in the supply of fuel, used for power generation, led to a disruption in the electricity supply of the Turkish-occupied areas on Thursday, while today, depending on availability, the supply will resume, Vrahimis Koutsoloukas, a spokesperson of the Transmission System Operator Cyprus (TSOC) told the Cyprus News Agency on Thursday. Asked to comment on reports in the Turkish Cypriot press about power cuts in the island’s Turkish-occupied areas, Koutsoloukas said that they were informed yesterday by the Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) that it is likely that a problem may occur in the delivery of fuel, due to weather conditions. This in turn would entail limitations in meeting the electricity demand in the free areas of the Republic of Cyprus and in supplying electricity to the Turkish-occupied areas. Koutsoloukas noted that while assessing the situation, electricity supply to the Turkish-occupied areas was halted on Wednesday, around noon. He explained that after the latest assessment, it was deemed possible to provide electricity and supply was expected to resume on Thursday, on a limited scale, while evaluating the fuel situation on a daily basis. If fuel delays are expected, we need to take precautionary measures in order to be able to meet the demand, he added. On another question, Koutsoloukas said that there is no problem in meeting electricity demand in the free areas of the Republic of Cyprus. Asked about the volume of electricity to the Turkish-occupied areas, Koutsoloukas said that there is daily planning and depending on the needs and the availability, there is consultation on a technical level as to how much electricity is provided at any given time. This, he said, varies throughout the day. Koutsoloukas said that the provision of electricity to the Turkish-occupied areas of Cyprus is part of the Confidence Building Measures to supply each other with energy, whenever the need arises, and offset this by returning the amount of energy provided. He added that recently there were cases of increased energy needs in the Turkish-occupied areas and it was decided that a payment should be made due to the large amount of power provided to the other side. Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third.
Source: Cyprus News Agency