Cyprus gov’t provides Turkish Cypriots with electricity

The state-owned Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) began supplying the Turkish occupied areas with electricity, responding to a request by the regime in the north after a power blackout, it was reported Thursday.

The EAC’s Deputy Manager for Customer Service, Costas Gavrielides, told CNA that the Authority had been working through the night to satisfy the request.

He said the problem in the occupied areas arose after an explosion at the Kyrenia power plant.

Gavrielides said the decision to provide power to the occupied areas was humanitarian, to which the Authority responded from the very first moment.

The Turkish Cypriot authorities had asked for a supply of 80 megawatts (MW) for a period of ten days.

Gavrielides said the connection with the occupied areas was achieved at three points.

“These lines have been inactive since 1996, when the supply to the occupied areas was terminated and we had to verify their good condition,” he noted adding that nothing like this happened in the past and surely not to this extent.