Cyprus recorded a historic electricity demand peak on Thursday afternoon, with electricity consumption reaching its highest level ever, according to the Cyprus Transmission System Operator (TSO).
Speaking to CNA, Charis Zavallis, Assistant Director of the National Energy Control Centre at the Cyprus Transmission System Operator, said demand exceeded 1,370MW at midday, well above earlier forecasts.
“Today we recorded the highest electricity demand of all time. We exceeded 1,370MW at midday and may even approach 1,380MW, although our forecast was for just over 1,350MW,” he said.
According to figures published by the TSO, total electricity demand stood at 1,372MW at 2:45pm.
Zavallis said Thursday was expected to be the day with the highest electricity demand recorded this year.
No power cuts expected
Despite the unprecedented demand, Zavallis said he does not expect rotating power cuts to be necessary.
His comments come a day after technical faults at EAC generating units in Dhekelia and Vasilikos forced authorities to implement rolling electricity outages across several parts of the island.
Generation units returning to service
Zavallis said the Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) has already returned one generating unit in Dhekelia to operation.
Although the unit had initially been expected to provide 60MW of capacity, it is currently supplying 30MW due to a technical issue.
He added that the Vasilikos generating unit is also expected to return to service later on Thursday.
“We have been told that no problems have emerged so far and that the unit should be available at around 6pm. Synchronisation procedures are already underway,” he said.
According to Zavallis, once both units are fully operational, they should be sufficient to meet electricity demand without difficulty while also providing reserve capacity in case of any unexpected incidents.
Also read: Energy Minister vows every effort to avoid power cuts tonight
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