8% rise in cost of electricity bills in Cyprus

Cyprus Energy Regulatory Authority (CERA) approved Wednesday an extraordinary increase of 8% (6.96% plus VAT) to the final bill of all consumers of the Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC).

Head of CERA Giorgos Shammas, announced in a press conference that the increase in electricity costs will begin to be recorded by the end of September 2011.According to Shammas, the price rise will apply for ten consecutive months.

Meanwhile, Government Spokesman Stephanos Stephanou said that the Cabinet decided that the Government will allocate 49 mln euros to cover the cost of renting temporary power plants for a year, so that EAC will not pass all its increased costs to the consumers.

He added that the Cabinet has authorized the Permanent Secretary of the Planning Bureau, to include this amount in his application for economic assistance from the EU funds.

Thirteen people were killed and dozens were injured when a massive explosion occurred at the naval base, Evangelos Florakis, near Limassol, on the southern coast, in the early hours of July 11th. The blast badly damaged the island’s main power plant, at Vasiliko, resulting in regular power cuts.