Cyprus and Crete at the mercy of electricity greed

Cyprus is the last energy-isolated member state of the European Union, with nearby Crete in a similar conundrum as it faces a spine-crunching fine from the European Union for not decommissioning its dirty power plants that need to be offline by the end of next year. And yet, deep-pocketed interests have prevented a major electricity interconnector project from being implemented on time as initially planned, depriving the two islands of accessing the vast European grid or buying cheaper electricity from nearby energy producers Israel and Egypt.

The blast at Mari in July 2011 brought the Cyprus economy to its knees as the nearby Vassiliko power plant was decimated from the deadly explosion, a nightmare that the island does not wish to relive and for which it fast-tracked alternative energy supply routes, including burning cleaner natural gas from the recently discovered offshore gas fields.

But critics say that this option is highly unlikely because of Turkey’s military ambitions in the region and Ankara’s constant threats to throw the LNG programme off course.

Crete faces a similar dilemma as its diesel-fired power stations must be decommissioned by the end of 2019, when a European Commission extension for these highly polluting units expires, with Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Canete recently making it clear that Greece will not be granted any more extensions to the life of these units.

Small units to be transferred from Rhodes and, possibly, leasing of other units for Crete, is planned to cover this extra demand, reminiscent of the days after July 2011 when Cyprus turned to leased mobile units to power up the country.

Kicking in to this equation is the rising cost of electricity prices in Cyprus, which seems odd at a time when the price of crude oil on world markets has fallen by 25% from its high two months ago, raising doubts over the viability of the over-generous tariffs to subsidise the renewable energy source producers (wind and solar parks).

As long as opening up the electricity market in Cyprus remains a far-off target, increasing the penetration of renewables into the energy mix is moving slowly and switching the EAC power plants from crude to natural gas depends on purchase and supply delays, both islands need to go ahead with electricity interconnection projects that will ensure lower prices for consumers, as well as security of supply.

It is incomprehensible why the Syriza government in Greece, initially a staunch supporter of the EuroAsia Interconnector cable, has made an about turn and rejected all prospects of EU funding for Cyprus and Crete, possibly to accommodate the interests of the Chinese investors who now control 24% of the Greek electricity transmission operator ADMIE. This will further delay the EU character of the Crete-Attica link and jeopardise security of supply to the Greek island, with an even greater risk of leaving Cyprus yet again exposed to risks of electricity supply.

With Turkish warships lurking around the coast of Cyprus, it’s anyone’s guess what its military might would do to upset the situation on the divided island, and this is what the Greek government should decide if it wants to prevent, by putting aside the financial interest of the few in the wider interests of both nations.