It is inconceivable that the largest energy organization of the country is absent from the effort to transition to green energy, said on Monday the Vice President of the Board of Directors of EAC, Giorgos Nikolettos, during the discussion in the Parliamentary Finance Committee of the Organization's budget for 2023 He noted that EAC's share in the total of 583 megawatts from RES projects is "almost zero" and called on the Energy Regulatory Authority (RAEK) to approve the Organization's relevant plan for this purpose.
Mr. Nicolettos also stated that the announcement of the strike measures by EAC employees is not approved by either the administration or the management of the Organization because they consider that these measures inconvenience and harm society. The Deputy President of the Committee, Chrysis Pantelidis, who chaired the committee, said that the EAC budget will be taken to the Plenary for a vote on Friday, December 2.
Presenting the EAC budget for 2023, Mr. Nicolettos, said that the total costs are 2.74 billion. and total revenue, 2.42 billion.
He also said that the EAC is facing "with particular difficulty very important challenges" which are expected to continue in view of the green electrical transition, and, referring to the Agency's actions to upgrade itself and its services, noted that it will be able to face any challenge for the benefit of the consumer and the country, strengthening the development course of the Cypriot economy .
Answering MPs' questions, regarding renewable energy sources (RES), he said that EAC today has built only one 3 megawatt park, and is building another 12 megawatt. In the total of 583 megawatts of RES projects, he added, it is "almost at zero".
"We consider that from this great effort to transition to green energy, it is inconceivable that the largest energy agency of the country”, he said.
He informed the members of the Committee that the Ministry of Commerce has approved a plan, which was requested of them, and has sent it to CERA. "We hope and demand its immediate approval, to let the Organization invest in RES which will be used in the production mix to lower the cost and the cost of pollutants for the consumer," added Mr. Nicoletos.
He noted that their plan is for 500-600 megawatts and said that a tender they had announced in 2019 to find blocks was frozen by CERA, while after representations by EAC, it was unfrozen, but a temporary regulatory decision was issued by CERA, stating that because they have a dominant position in production, EAC should not be allowed to invest in RES.
He noted that they consider this "wrong". "We must be left, on equal terms,", he said.
He also mentioned that Cyprus, based on Eurostat data, is in 18th place in the EU in terms of electricity accuracy, "even though we are an isolated state without electrical interconnection, without other means of energy production».
Regarding greenhouse emissions, Mr. Nicolettos said in 2023 they are estimated to be 3.31 million tons while for 2022 the deficit rights were 2.96 million tons. He noted that the purchase prices of pollutants also increased.
Asked how many people work in the Agency, he said that the number of posts is increasing to 143 in relation to the 2022 budget. The EAC, he said, had submitted in October 2021, a request for the creation of 370 new posts, and they have been approved by the Ministry of Finance 146. He noted that the approved positions are 2,329 and currently serve 2,162 people, that is, he added, they have about 7% vacancies, and that they have requested the creation of 370 new positions. A number, which, as he said, someone outside the EAC might consider to be large, however, they did not end up "arbitrarily" in this number, but after special study.
These positions are needed, he added, for the opening of the electricity market, for the implementation of regulatory decisions, for the green transition, the automation of the network, the development of RES projects and in general for the development and maintenance of transmission networks, the new production unit , which is now under construction, the unit six, capacity, 160 megawatts, and the needs for the operation of their stations. ?, he added.
Mr. Nicolettos said that the personnel cost in the current consumer tariff corresponds to 6.2%, while with the additional 146 positions requested by EAC in the current budget, it will go to 6.5%, while, with the remaining 224 positions requested for the next budget, it will be at 6.8%.
Regarding the social policy of the EAC, he referred to the measures that apply to large families and recipients of public assistance, and of the EEE, and said that those included in these plans are 18,500, i.e. 57% of the beneficiaries, which are approximately 32,000. He added that EAC is also doing an information campaign about’ these measures.
For the pandemic he said that the EAC proceeded with discounts of about €53 million on consumer bills.
As for where EAC is in the current competitive environment, he said that they see the competition as an opportunity and a motivation to continuously improve. The organization, he added, with the specialized know-how and experience of its staff, is able to face the competition, noting that, as of 1/1/2021, three new suppliers have joined which hold approximately 2% of the market.
Finally, Mr. Nicolettos said that they want to point out that when society is tested with this high price of energy which is formed, outside the control of the EAC, tensions and pressures should not be caused in the world. "The announcement of the strike measures does not find agreement, neither the administration, nor the management of the Organization because we consider that these measures inconvenience and harm society,", he added.
In their comments, the members of Committee noted the role of the EAC in the country's economy and society.
Mr. Pantelidis, in his presentation during the session, expressed the opinion that the EAC should be supported to the maximum extent possible, remain under the control of the public and continue to fulfill its economic and social role. He asked if the EAC was at risk from a sustainability point of view. He also noted that there is a false impression in society about staff costs that they are too high, while they are at 5%.
The Member of Parliament of DISY, Onoufrios Koullas noted that this is a very large budget for “a very important organization in Cyprus”. He said that EAC is "a healthy organization" and that it is gratifying that these jobs have been approved, while he congratulated the Agency because, as he said, in times of crisis it had contributed for some months to the reduction of electricity from its own reserves, but they consider it very important that its own reserves be invested mainly in the modernization of the network. The position of his party is clear, he noted, that they consider that the EAC "must enter energetically in RES".
DISY Member of Parliament, Savia Orfanidou, noted that our fellow citizens are having a very difficult time due to the ongoing energy crisis and asked about the EAC's social policy. He also said that the EAC, "has a huge future ahead of it" and that they want a strong EAC, to be able to support fellow citizens.
In his own position, AKEL Member of Parliament Andreas Kavkalias, said that his colleagues, "theoretically" they want a strong EAC because, as he said, in practice what the Government is attempting is to undermine the Organization in order to prepare the ground to hand it over to large private interests. , said that both the EAC and the ATHIK are organizations that have always supported the state and want it to continue its work not only for the good of the workers, of the organization itself, but also of society.
The Member of Parliament of DIPA, Alekos Tryfonidis, said that for his party the EAC is "one of the most important" pillars of support for the State and the economy. Their goal is to fully support her in order to fulfill this role and to be upgraded, but also to perform at the same time social role. He also said that EAC's plans "are ambitious and we applaud them", but the questions must be answered why EAC was not allowed to enter the renewable energy sector and how these goals are exceeded. Referring to the recent strike of the trade union movement of the EAC, he said that he also wants to see the Board of Directors step forward to claim the implementation of its decisions. of development, stating that the sooner a service is developed, the better results it will have and keep pace with the issue of competition, for the benefit of the citizen, in terms of service provision and costs. Regarding the issue of the Organization's sustainability, he said that they see an increased budget, reduced revenues and an issue of understaffing, wondering how these three facts go together, from a financial point of view.
Source: KYPE
