The Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) has begun examining what tariff hikes it will impose for 2025, the head of the state-run utility said on Monday.
Giorgos Petrou, board chairman at the EAC, made the comments to the Stockwatch media outlet.
He said they would present their new tariffs proposal to the energy regulator by this July. The amount of the proposed increase would depend on whether the EAC’s financial forecasts for 2025 are pessimistic or optimistic, he added.
It was only in early March when the regulator thwarted the EAC from imposing any rate hikes for the current year. The power utility had planned on a six per cent rise in tariffs, but pushback from politicians made it have second thoughts.
Normally the EAC requests an increase in electricity tariffs once a year, for the duration of the year in question.
In other remarks, Petrou dismissed the notion that the organisation faces financial difficulty due to not having increased its tariffs for 2024.
To drive the point home, he said that on Monday the EAC’s cash reserves came to a little over €280 million. Last Friday they amounted to €290 million.
“Therefore, with these reserves, we can implement our development plans, which besides extend over a ten-year horizon,” Petrou noted.
The organisation tracks its cash reserves and large payments on a day-to-day basis.
“The EAC needs about €70 million in cash on hand in order to cope with daily expenditures. There are ulterior motives behind what is being said, namely that the EAC faces financial troubles.”
The EAC boss also revealed some “good news” about plans to upgrade the ageing power station at Dhekelia.
“We have already selected the contractor who will carry out the study and monitor the [upgrade] project. If all goes smoothly, in the month of July we will come out with tenders, with a view to completing the project within 2025.”
The cost of upgrading the Dhekelia plant is estimated at €110 million. It involves installing two new turbines of 40 megawatts each, plus an electricity storage unit.
