We will examine at tomorrow's board meeting the finances of EAC and "we will take a responsible decision" in relation to the Authority's request for a 6% increase in 2024 in final tariffs, EAC President Giorgos Petrou told KYPE, who at the same time expressed the readiness of the Board of Directors to withdraw, after receiving legal advice, the appeal made by the Authority to the court against the decision of the Energy Regulatory Authority (CERA) not to approve the 25% increase for 2023 in the basic tariffs.
However, according to information from KYPE, the Energy Regulatory Authority (CERA) has before it EAC's request for a 6% increase for 2024, but due to the different statements by EAC on the matter, it is currently on hold, until the EAC Board of Directors takes its final position in relation to the issue of the increase.
However, the President of the Pancypriot Consumers Association, Marios Drousiotis, expresses concern in statements to the KYPE about the future of EAC services in the event that the increases requested by the Authority are not implemented. He also expresses concern as to whether the consumer will pay in installments for larger increases in the future.
Specifically, Mr. Petrou told KYPE that during tomorrow's session of the Board of Directors, a presentation will be made by the financial department in relation to the 6% increase in tariffs, while the urgent issue of upgrading the Unit in Dekelia will also be considered, noting that due to the many issues that will be discussed in tomorrow's session, the issue of EAC's appeal to the court against CERA's decision not to approve the 25% increase in the final tariffs for 2023 will probably be transferred to the board session next Tuesday.
Mr. Petrou said in relation to EAC's request for a 6% increase, that "if we make a decision based on the Authority's financial data, not to proceed with the increase, I hope that the Government will continue to provide the sponsorship it gives for the price of electricity".
"We will look at our finances on Friday and make a responsible decision", without affecting the development program of the Authority, he stressed.
If we both try, both the EAC and the Government, the consumer will be able to relieve himself from the pressure of electricity prices, he added.
In relation to the 25% increase for 2023, the President of the EAC said that this is no longer the case because, as he explained, the forecasts for the future presented to the Authority's then Board of Directors to make the decision to increase the tariffs were not confirmed in 2023 and "therefore the 25% should not apply".
"That's why we said we wouldn't support it," he said, explaining that a business is forced to make timely predictions about the future, but today's facts are different than what was predicted then.
"The appeal" to the court has also remained to be withdrawn, which "we want to withdraw after receiving legal advice from the Board", during tomorrow's session, which will take place in the presence of the Authority's legal advisors.
He said that the decision to withdraw the appeal "will be taken by the Board of Directors but I see no reason why it should not be done".
Concerns from Consumers' Association about the future of EAC services due to non-increase in tariffs
Besides, in statements to KYPE, the President of the Pancypriot Consumers' Association Marios Drousiotis said that "we were all happy at first sight that we will avoid the 25% of 2023 and it will be only 6% for 2024", expressing, however, concern and concern that " at some stage the EAC will provide reduced services and will not be able to meet its needs', due to the millions it will lose by not implementing the specific increases.
"We express concern because the future of the selling price of electricity does not seem to be more favorable or will be inauspicious due to the possibility that in the future the EAC will carry out reduced services as the development program of the EAC will not be able to be done or will be done with cuts", he added.
Mr. Drousiotis said that with all that he says, it does not mean that he supports charging consumers with increases, but we should not avoid the increases now, as he said, "and come to the end to pay it in installments and even with interest".
"This suspension of 13% on final tariffs (25% on basic prices) is like the suspension of loan installments," he added.
"For this on the one hand I'm happy and on the other I'm sad", he said and added that when no increases were entered in 2023, then a 6% increase in 2024 is fair. "You can't postpone fair requests", he added.
In relation to the non-approval last year by CERA for a 25% increase in the basic exchange rates (13% increase in the final tariff), Mr. Drousiotis said that in his statements at the time he had stated that "from CERA's decision it is understood that EAC's request is justified, but due to special circumstances and public interest, it was not approved."
Mr. Drousiotis said that these requests of the EAC are considered justified and added that in case the Authority's appeal is withdrawn by the court, "it means that the EAC will be deprived of around 90 to 100 million euros in revenue", adding that "these revenues would be used for the development, among other things, of the Authority's network, which currently presents problems and needs an immediate upgrade to accept energy from RES".
"If we deprive the EAC of these millions, it means that the Authority will at some later stage be weakened and find itself unable to serve the needs of RES", he said and added that "everyone now admits that we have problems in network and last summer we had power outages".
In addition, the President of the Consumers' Association wondered "whether there are some who influence the decision-making centers (executive, legislative or other powers) so that the Authority is weakened in order to make an attempt to sell it" and referred to the case of Cyta, which a few years ago, as he said, "it was on the verge of being sold to the private sector".
"Would some people influencing the decision centers try to do something similar to what they tried to do with Cyta," he wondered.
Source: KYPE