Major power cuts continue today in various areas in the occupied territories, which has caused reactions since yesterday about the consequences on commercial and social life as well as on the operation of hospitals, clinics and the situation of patients with respiratory problems.
TC media report that since last night, through the interconnected network, 30 megawatts have been supplied with electricity in the occupied territories.
After conflicting statements yesterday about whether there is finally enough fuel and where the outages are due to, today the scene seems to have become clearer. The "chairman" of the "board" of the "electricity authority", Hassan Aqyit, said today that fuel will arrive after noon and that they are working to find a solution to the energy crisis. Shortly afterwards, a statement from the "authority" said that from midnight tonight the power cuts will be greatly reduced.
Speaking to Yeni Dusen, Akyit said that last night a "crisis management centre" was set up at the "authority" and tankers were transporting fuel from the AKSA power station to the one at the Kyrenia Bank to enable it to work at 50% of its capacity. "Yes, this is not a solution, but we had to start somewhere."
Late last night the "cabinet" held an emergency meeting to review the situation as there was almost a general shutdown at 22.00, sparking strong reactions on social media. The "Prime Minister", Unal Ustel said today that the company responsible for the power cuts is Sideral Denizcilik, which won the tender to buy fuel and failed to meet its obligations, causing "material and non-material" damage to the "electricity authority". For this reason, he announced that they will claim all the legal rights of the "authority."
Acknowledging that "announcing the reason for the power cuts that have caused great difficulties for citizens does not mean that the problem is solved," he said. He reiterated that they would go out to international bids for the supply of fuel, adding that electricity needs would be met uninterrupted through the planned interim purchases until the company that wins the tender makes its first delivery.
According to Mr. Ustell said that the blackouts today were to be shorter in duration and from tonight "normal power supply will resume."
It is recalled that yesterday Mr Ustell had stated that the blackouts were not due to a lack of fuel but to maintenance of the transformers.
In a statement, the workers' guild of the "electricity authority", El Sen said that the blackouts were a consequence of the lack of fuel. The only culprits for the chaos we warned about - the guild said in its statement - are the government and those running the "authority".
The power cuts have provoked reactions from citizens and organised groups.
The T/C medical association in a statement last night noted the danger posed by the outages to those on life support to remain alive. Kipris today published a photo of little Asya who is on life support (tracheotomy) and asked, "While you can't hold your breath for 5 minutes, how do you expect us to remain breathless for hours?"
The medical association says that the frequency of power outages in hospitals and their prolonged duration have begun to cause problems in the activation and adequacy of generators, as well as problems in health care or service delivery. It also draws attention to patients who are at home and need power for the support machines to which they are connected. "We call on all those in charge and responsible to take immediate action before lives are lost."
Kipris writes that there were problems yesterday both at the "state" Nicosia hospital and at major hospitals everywhere, scanners, other medical examination machines were not working and many people who had appointments had to wait for hours. Air conditioners were also out of order, it added, with the heat being unbearable for patients, medical staff and visitors.
The Nicosia "municipality" announced that as of today it has a room for 33 patients with support machines who need uninterrupted power.
"We've had enough," said a statement from the restaurant owners' association as the long power cuts meant that many could not work yesterday. They are already having a hard time due to the economic crisis, a statement from the association said, and now the long outages are forcing them to buy generators. "Prime ministers" and "ministers" are changing, it is noted, each new one ("minister") makes hollow promises and in a week the crisis is even deeper. "We are fed up, we are exhausted. If you can't, even resignation is a virtue."
The leader of the opposition, President of the PTK, Toufan Erhiurman criticized the "government" for adding another difficulty to the world every day. He noted that yesterday Mr. Ustell was saying yesterday that the problem is not fuel and today the "chairman" of the "electricity authority" said fuel will come after noon. There was also an outage this morning between 5.30am and 8.40am,he added saying, "it has been six months, enough is enough. Go away!"
Source: CNA
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