Given that Cyprus is an electrically isolated state, the more interconnections it has, the better, Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry Michael Damianos said on Thursday, responding to journalists' questions at a press conference reviewing his ministry's work during Cyprus's Presidency of the Council of the EU.
Asked to comment on the announcement of a Cyprus-Lebanon agreement for a preliminary feasibility study on a possible electricity interconnection between the two countries, and whether the project could potentially be combined with the Greece-Cyprus-Israel electricity interconnector, the minister noted that the latter, the Great Sea Interconnector, is a far more mature project than the one involving Lebanon. He added that the Lebanon project has different financing, since it is not a European project. He stressed, however, the importance of electricity interconnection projects for Cyprus, noting that they provide the country with security of supply.
Electrical interconnections
Damianos explained that financing for the Lebanon project will come from the World Bank at a later stage. Regarding the letter to the World Bank, he said it would be signed within the day. He noted that, depending on the results of the preliminary study, a more thorough study would follow on the benefits of the Cyprus-Lebanon interconnection, to determine how it could proceed.
Asked whether there were any timelines, he replied that there was no specific picture yet of the horizon for advancing the study, nor specific timeframes. "It will depend on the World Bank, but this is certainly a project that will go through several stages of planning before implementation, which will take place over the long term," he said.
Asked also about the Great Sea Interconnector with Greece, he said IPTO, the Greek transmission system operator, has already submitted a request to the European Investment Bank, and that this is expected to take several months. "I believe that by the end of the year we will have the updated technical characteristics," he concluded.
Minister reassures on fuel and power supply
The minister struck a reassuring tone when asked about fuel and electricity supply, in light of the ongoing war in the Middle East.
"On fuel supply, we don't believe there is a problem," he said. "Where there could potentially be a supply issue over time is aviation fuel," he noted, adding, however, that "at the moment this appears to be manageable, with no cause for concern."
On fuel prices, he noted that following talks on a ceasefire, prices have fallen significantly. "How much they hold at that level, or where they end up, always depends on political developments," he said, noting that this is an external factor the Republic of Cyprus cannot control. "What we can control is fuel taxation, which, as you know, has been extended until mid-September," he added.
On electricity supply, he noted that the Transmission System Operator Cyprus (TSOC) has also announced that there does not appear to be a problem for the summer, the period when demand is typically at its highest.
He also said work on energy storage is progressing, and that TSOC expects to receive its new 120-megawatt batteries in January, with installation completed before the summer of 2027. "So there is a timeline in place to ensure adequacy on a long-term horizon," the minister said, concluding that "in the coming years, everything is connected, both to the EAC's generators and to the arrival of natural gas, but these are matters we are managing, and it takes time to reach that level of adequacy."
Source: Cyprus News Agency (CNA)
