With the signing of the contract for the purchase of 400,000 smart meters from CYTA, the Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) is expected to bring an end to the prolonged issues and confusion surrounding their acquisition, unless new obstacles arise. This afternoon, the EAC will proceed with the contract, putting an end to the years-long saga.

The court's decision on EAC's appeal resolved the problem, allowing the contract to be signed without the need to re-tender, thereby saving valuable time. Initially, the Administrative Court had canceled the award of the contract to CYTA. However, a change in legislation and the subsequent appeal allowed the agreement to proceed.

CYTA had submitted a bid of €39.9 million for the supply of 400,000 smart meters to the EAC, with €35 million of the funding coming from the Recovery and Resilience Fund.

According to the binding timelines set by the Recovery and Resilience Fund, 50,000 meters must be received and 15,000 installed by September 2024. The receipt of all 400,000 meters and the installation of at least 250,000 meters must be completed by June 2026.

It is also noteworthy that, according to information from the EAC, there has been an acceleration of the timelines, reducing the period from 36 months to 25 months and the number of delivery phases from eight to five.