NICOSIA – The Electricity Authority of Cyprus is working round the clock to operate the units at Vasiliko Power Plant that were damaged last July, to meet the increasing power supply in the summer.

EAC Chairman Haris Thrasou told CNA that the two units at Vasiliko power plant, which suffered major damage, following a blast at a naval base near the coastal city of Limassol last July, have a 300-megawatt capacity and will be ready to operate in June and July.

The blast, which occurred in containers full of munitions confiscated from a vessel sailing from Iran to Syria in 2009, resulted in regular power cuts last summer.

“We expect to start operating unit 5, which has a capacity of 220-230 mw and part of unit 4 which has a 70 mw capacity, totaling 300 mw and we are also planning to import 120 mw from overseas. We have already made the order,” he pointed out.

With these additional units, he said, “we believe that we can cover the gap that will be created with the high demand in the summer”.

Answering a question about the demand during the presidency of the European Council from July until the end of the year, Thrasou said that the EAC will make an effort to operate the old units at Moni and Dhekelia to meet demand.

Thrasou said there is “always a danger for a blackout but the danger is quite distant”.

He further said that the insurance companies have already started compensation payments over the Mari explosion.

Thrasou did not rule out an increase in the price of electricity due to fuel hikes, noting “that if gas prices go up, I will tell you that electricity prices will go up since 60% of the bill goes to fuel”.

However, he added that no one can predict the price of fuel.