Tenders Review Authority upholds smart meter contract

The Tenders Review Authority on Thursday saved the state from a potential major headache – losing out on EU funds – by ruling that a contract awarded for the installation of smart meters stands.

The body upheld a recent decision by the Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) to award a €39.9 million contract to the Cyprus Telecommunications Authority (CyTA) for the installation of 400,000 smart meters across the island.

That decision had been challenged by one of the other bidders, Logicom Solutions Ltd, which had put in a bid of €33.6 million.

Logicom argued that in awarding the bid, the EAC had violated essential terms of the tender.

Officials had earlier warned that Cyprus risked losing the funds related to smart meters designated in the Recovery and Resilience Facility.

Under the timetable, Cyprus had until the end of March to seal the awarding of the contract. Authorities need to receive 50,000 smart meters and install 15,000 of them by September of this year, and next receive all 400,000 and install 250,000 of them by June 2026.

If not, Cyprus would fall foul of the commitments undertaken towards the Recovery and Resilience Facility.

Having examined Logicom’s appeal, the Tenders Review Authority rejected it. The decision was delivered in record time; usually it takes months for such cases to be heard. It was only last month that the EAC had awarded the contract.

The Tenders Review Authority essentially based its decision on reasons of public interest.

The decision read: “Any further delay in implementing the contract would raise the specter of serious repercussions both for Cyprus and for EAC customers, via the loss of financing from the European Union, by no means a paltry sum…”