The budget of AHK for 2022 is in deficit and provides for expenditure of €1,761,672,000 and revenue of €1,443,703.000.
AHK's expenditure for 2022 is increased by 32.5% compared to the corresponding expenditure for 2021 and covers staff salaries (€133,159,000), operating expenses (€85,525,000), fuel, electricity purchase and Market Operator expenses (€1,103,740,000), taxation and financing costs (€13,000.000), capital expenditure (€194,648,000) and contingencies (€231,600,000).
AHK's revenues for 2022 mainly relate to electricity sales (€1,063,606,000), charges to the Market Operator (€334,857,000), sale of desalinated water through the Vasilikos plant (€15,480,000), various other revenues from non-regulated activities (€13.200,000), cost recovery from the Cyprus Transmission System Operator (€4,000,000) and interest receivable (€2,000,000).
DIKO MP Christiana Erotokritou said that the rulers have managed over the last 10 years to open a fan of fines and forced high prices for Cypriot consumers. She said the Cypriot consumer as a result of inaction and wrong handling is paying hundreds of euros in fines for the purchase of pollutants, while they ignored that the Dhekelia plants could not operate, something they knew since 2010. He added that what the government has managed to achieve is that today Cyprus is in the energy middle age, with the most outdated electricity generation system, while the bill is rising because we are burning fuel oil, natural gas is slow to arrive and Renewable Energy Sources (RES) are being developed.
The President of the Citizens' Ecological Movement, Haralambos Theopeptou, said that while these things have been known for ten years, the choices of the respective governments have brought us here, especially in recent years when the prices of pollutants have increased dramatically. He added that under the fit for 55 policy there will be an increase in fuel costs since there will be an increase based on greenhouse emissions.
ELAM MP Sotiris Ioannou said that the continuous increases have led citizens to a state of poverty and the tragic events in Ukraine will increase the problem even more. He referred to power cuts to citizens and called for immediate solutions to reduce costs. He also said that it is immoral, obscene and criminal to subsidise free electricity to TCs even for the occupying army while cutting off electricity to vulnerable categories of citizens.
The General Secretary of AKEL, Stefanos Stefanou, spoke of a crucial crossroads in energy issues, which finds Cyprus completely unprepared in terms of infrastructure for the arrival of natural gas and in relation to the exploitation of the Aphrodite field. He also said that Cyprus is at the bottom of the EU in renewables and blamed the "deadlock in terms of energy plans" on the present government "which commits to things and does nothing". He added that the increase in electricity prices is largely due to the penalties paid by the Republic of Cyprus from pollutants and said that this year we will pay 120-130 euros for this reason. He also criticized the President's mention of the law to reduce VAT on electricity and called on the government to reduce VAT by 10% for as long as this difficult period with energy prices lasts.
DISY MP Onoufrios Koulla said that the electricity bill today is even a little lower than ten years ago. He added that Cyprus has exceeded the 12% target for renewable energy agreed by the AKEL government and managed to go to 17%. On gas, he said that there was no easy way to get it because of the prices prevailing in the last decade and the offers accepted by the Republic of Cyprus did not reduce the cost of energy except for the last one. He also said that gas would only reduce pollutants by 28%. What is needed, he said, is a targeted and prudent social policy, supporting those in real need and taking into account public finances. He also referred to the projects announced by the government to save energy. He also noted that Cyprus will also face this crisis because it has the fiscal capacity.
In response, Stefanou referred to promises made by the government in the energy sector which have not been implemented. He further stated that the Government insists on bidding for renewable energy and while in 2012 it had held a tender and received a price below 6 cents, for some reason it walked out of that tender and went to a bidding process, without the Energy Minister being able to answer why.
Koulla replied that the AKEL government committed Cyprus to very high prices for renewable energy projects, while now the government is not guaranteeing anyone any price, since the competitive electricity market will be opened.
Source: CNA
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs Cyprus Times
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or Cyprus Times
Source
