Destroyed Cyprus power plan in operation by March 2013

The Vassiliko power plant, the island’s main electricity supplier decimated by a deadly ammunitions blast last July, will return to full operation by March 2013, Haris Thrasou, chairman of the Electricity Authority of Cyprus said.

Thrasou said that the power plant will reach it pre-2011 its output level of about 1300MW.
The power plant was destroyed when nearly 100 containers laden with a confiscated arms shipment from Iran headed to Syria exploded in sweltering heat, killing 13 soldiers and firefighters. The outage brought the island’s power grid to its jknees and businesses continued to suffer throughout the year, with the cost on the economy estimated to have exceeded one billion euros (1.25 bln dollars).
Since then, the EAC has relied on mobile power units to supplement energy loss, with renewable sources of energy – wind and solar – providing less than 10% of the island’s needs. The government was also obliged to buy electricity from the Turkish-occupied north, causing further friction among the Greek Cypriot society.
Thrasou added that the leased mobile units are expected to be removed by the end of this year, ending a 6.96% levy on energy bills to pay for their rent.
“We are working in full swing, in order to secure sufficient power supply in the summer, and satisfy demand during the peak season,” he said. By July 15, he added, more reserve mobile units of 120 MW will be installed in the grid, in case of higher than predicted energy demand.
As regards the reconstruction of the Vassiliko power station, Thrasou said that part of the plant’s Unit 5 will be in place by June with its full operation scheduled for August. Energy output is expected at 220 MW, to which another 70 MW from Unit 4 will be added.