Desperate efforts to avert island-wide power cuts due to excessive demand on a deficient grid have been successful.

The freak heatwave hit Cyprus while maintenance works were being carried out on production units ahead of the projected increased demand of July and August.

A unit with a capacity of 120MW was locked back onto the grid at Vasiliko early on Thursday afternoon, according to Philenews, with authorities breathing a sigh of relief.

Energy Minister George Papanastasiou was briefed at Vasiliko powerplant on Thursday on the demand and efforts to reconnect unit 3 to the grid.

The heatwave has been trying the electricity supply, with the rising demand putting pressure on an already “borderline” system, which can last only if there is no “unforeseen circumstance”.

Spokeswoman for Cyprus’ Transmission System Chara Kousiappa told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) that demand had reached July levels.

On Wednesday, demand stood at 1017MW at 5pm and around 900MW at 6pm-9.30pm.

Conventional production does not include photovoltaic energy, which contributed 480MW at around 1pm and around 60MW after 6pm.

Kousiappa noted that Thursday’s demand was expected to be higher than Wednesday’s, projected at 930MW in the evening.

Referring to the capacity of conventional production, Kousiappa said available units could produce 942MW, and that units in scheduled maintenance were expected to be delivered soon.

“I’d say we are borderline, without reserves. Barring unforeseen circumstances, there will be adequacy,” she said.

The spokeswoman added that a 120MW-capacity unit in maintenance at Vasiliko was expected to be synchronised with the system later Thursday, meaning there would be a reserve.

Problems, she said, would arise only if the unit was not synchronised, there was a fault, or demand spiked.