Discussion on abolishing DEFA's monopoly for importing Natural Gas after the shipwreck for terminal – Letter of Minister of Energy at CERA – €30m for floating terminal rental, power price savings
Potential scrapping of the emerging market in an effort to achieve the advent of natural > gas in Cyprus for the purpose of power generation, stated that the Minister of Energy, Trade and Industry Giorgos Papanastasiou is considering.
The position of Mr. Papanastasiou was made at the extraordinary session of the parliamentary committee on Energy, during which both the Chairman of the committee Kyriakos Hatzigiannis and the former Chairman of DISY, Averof Neophytou, referred to this possibility so that the market is not “locked” “, as they said, while Mr. Hatzigianni also raised the precedent of Germany which, due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, had regulated by law the issue of the hasty construction of liquefied natural gas reception terminals.
In response, Giorgos Papanastasiou said that the Ministry sees both possibilities positively.
RAEK: We received a request from the Government
The President of CERA, Andreas Pullikkas, after saying that this is the first time he is hearing about the abolition of the emerging market, he revealed that four days ago CERA has received a letter from the Ministry of Energy “asking us to investigate the possibility of abolishing the emerging market and what regulatory decisions are needed so that it can to regulate a market which will have several natural gas suppliers”.
“We are in the process of examining it”, he added.
Mr. Papanastasiou rejected allegations of pre-negotiation , as mentioned by AKEL MP, Andreas Pasiourtides, saying that it was the first time he heard this proposal from some members of the Parliament for which he expresses satisfaction.< /p>
“Our motivation,” said the Minister of Energy, “is the difficulties we face in many matters. We have weaknesses in the supply chain and knowledge in others,we have an endless terminal right now and we have to make bold decisions, as Mr. Neophytou said, within the context of the data we have. The only way to free it and not stay in the lockdown is to think of alternatives and this is an alternative that the Ministry of Energy thought of, we happen to hear it from the Parliament and I'm glad”.
While the natural gas market has for years been declared emerging with the only natural gas supplier being the Public Natural Gas Company, the abolition of this regulation will open the market to private individuals and DEFA to import liquefied natural gas and utilizing ETYFA's onshore infrastructure to supply the market. As reported, this arrangement will circumvent the ongoing impasse due to the legal dispute between ETYFA and the Chinese consortium and the “hostage” of the Shanghai-based FRSU Prometheus.
€30 million for renting a floating terminal, savings on the price of electricity
Also, Gyorgos Chrysochos, CEO of Power Energy Cyprus (PEC) said his company has explored the possibility of renting a floating gas dehydration terminal with 25 owners of such terminals. As he said, the rental price is €80,000 per day, i.e. €30 million per year. He noted, however, that this money will be covered by the savings due to the import of cheaper fuel compared to the fuel oil and diesel used by the EAC for power generation.
“The condition is to declare the market an emerging one,” he said. .
The President of the EAC, Giorgos Petrou said that the Authority will study the matter.
Meanwhile for the legal dispute and procedures for terminalnatural gas, the Minister said he would refrain from giving answers on individual issues due to a crucial session on September 4 at the London Magistrates' Court.
And Mr. Petrou, expressed concerns about discussing the issue amid court proceedings in London and reminded that what is officially said is used by the other side. “September 4th is a very critical date,” he said.
The project of the terminal is now before the European Public Prosecutor's Office, which has started a criminal investigation of the matter.
In statements after the session, Mr. Hatzigianni repeated the DISY recommendations for abolition of the emerging market and consider the issue of completing the terminal procedures by law, on the basis of the German standard. that yes, the market should be opened, a special law should be passed on how to complete the project, freeing it from procedures that will not allow us to get results as quickly as possible”, he said.
Furthermore, Mr. Pasiourtidis he spoke of a “new philosophy” on behalf of the Government at a time when the Government had a Plan B for the completion of the terminal. “The big and scandalous mistakes of the previous administration and the mishandling of the current government have brought us to the point where we are talking about something completely different today. The infamous plab B goes for a walk” he said.
