He noted that it would discourage people from going into the occupied territories to fill their cars with cheaper fuel.
The Dekelia Power Station is very important for the state and must remain in operation, stated today the Minister of Energy, Trade and Industry Giorgos Papanastasiou, noting at the same time that this particular station burns very polluting fuel and must, together with the EAC, be supported by the state and be upgraded. The Minister also stated that it is very difficult to review the government's decision to continue subsidizing electricity and fuel and noted that it would discourage people from going to the occupied territories to fill their cars with cheaper fuel. Asked about the queues of cars seen today at petrol stations to fill their car tanks before the increase in the price of fuel, the Minister said “I understand” andadvised the consumer “the 8 won't save us cents if we put fuel in our car today”.
In statements on the sidelines of his visit to the EAC Station in Dekelia, the Minister stated that his choice to visit this particular station was because it is “the station where there are the most question marks”. Today, he said, “the goal is to talk to the staff and listen to the questions and answer as many as we can” while those who cannot we will return with answers.
He added that “the Dekelia station is burning fuel that is very polluting. It mainly works with fuel oil and is essentially the station where decisions must be made by the EAC with the support of the state in order to upgrade it to continue its production, which we absolutely need in the place”.
We need, he continued, production “not only as electric power, but also the geographical area in which it is produced is very important, so as to keep the system in balance. The Dekelia Station is very important for the state and must remain in operation”.
In response to a question regarding the fines for pollutants paid by the tax-paying citizens of the Republic, Mr. Papanastasiou said that< strong> “in many energy matters we have fallen behind”.“We always come in hindsight to say that we were late for something,” he said and added that “we cannot control the past and the present now that we are living it. What we can control now is the future and that's what we will do,” he said.
He should continue “through our plans, and as I understand they are parallel plans with the state, to promote the utilization of the specific space and to continue producing the electricity we need”.
When asked how quickly these changes can be made, the Minister replied “it is a five-year plan plus maybe the upgrading of the station”.
Called to state whether the government can review the decision on the electricity subsidy due to the summer, Mr. Papanastasiou expressed his belief that “it is difficult to review such a decision.It is after a very careful study and a very difficult decision that the Council of Ministers made the decision the day before yesterday,” he said and noted that “it is a matter of maintaining a balance between social benefits, but also being serious about our budgets”.
Regarding the review of the fuel decision, he said that “I insist that there was no justification for the subsidy to continue” because as he explained “petroleum prices when we decided on the subsidy are much lower now as a base, that is the original price of fuel, so any subsidy could not continue today”.
Asked about car queuesobserved at gas stations to fill car tanks before the increase in the price of fuel, the Minister said that “I get it” andadvised the consumer “the 8 cents if we put fuel in the car today will not save us us”.
As for the queues of cars seen at the roadblocks in order for their owners to fill up with fuel from the occupied areas, Mr. Papanastasiou said that “I would discourage it”.
Commenting by a reporter that the government should give incentives to people not to go to the occupied territories for fuel, the Energy Minister said “I remain discouraged and you know what I mean”.
For her part, Miss Panagiotou Theodosiou, President of the Board of Directors of EAC welcomed the Minister of Energy to the Dekelia station and noted that “for several years there was uncertainty about the future of this station. But today we express our satisfaction as EAC, because there is a confirmation that the station must remain for purposes of adequacy, stability and also for geopolitics”.
He added that “what remains now is the upgrading of the station and that's where we have to focus.” “There is the development program of the EAC and within it there is a special program for Dekelia” said Mrs. Panagiotou and noted that “the studies have already been done. We are now examining the various scenarios resulting from the study and when we are ready we will present them to the Minister and the Ministry, so that we can make the decisions”.
In response to a question as to whether the EAC expects financial support from the government, Mrs. Theodosiou replied that “we are not at this stage, we are examining the scenarios”. at all stations. It's a station where some of the units are quite old but our people are taking care of the maintenance until the upgrade is done.”
