The Plenary of the House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill last Thursday (16/5) aimed at amending the responsibilities of CYTA. The bill was introduced as urgent and seeks to address issues related to Smart Meters and the confusion that followed the awarding and subsequent cancellation of CYTA's bid for the supply of 400,000 meters by the Administrative Court.

Following these changes, the Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) faces two possibilities:

First, if the appeal against the Administrative Court's initial decision is successful, the EAC will proceed with signing a contract with CYTA.

Second, if the appeal fails, the EAC will reissue the tender for the procurement of smart meters.

According to EAC spokesperson Christina Papadopoulou, who spoke to Brief, the decisions are expected to be made in June, as the appeal decision is anticipated by that time.

When asked why the contract is not awarded to CYTA now that the bill has expanded its responsibilities, Ms. Papadopoulou explained that the law cannot be applied retroactively.

The confusion over the procurement of Smart Meters has persisted for years, as several attempts by the EAC to purchase them have fallen through.

Recently, the EAC, in consultation with other authorities, has been seeking ways to overcome the obstacle, as there is a significant risk of losing €35 million from the Recovery and Resilience Facility.

This is because, according to the timelines provided, the contract with the company should have been signed by the end of March. However, this did not happen due to another company's appeal and the Administrative Court's decision that the tender could not be awarded to CYTA. The court noted that the legislation governing CYTA does not include the provision of devices, particularly electric consumption meters.

Now, with the passing of the bill into law, CYTA is permitted to conduct activities either directly or through other entities in areas that involve the exploitation of its assets, capital, technical or commercial capabilities, facilities, services, and expertise when such activities are deemed necessary and beneficial to the organization.

Specifically, the new law enables CYTA to participate in parallel markets or activities related to communications, media, information technology, and other similar sectors.

According to sources who spoke to Brief, although there is a risk of losing the €35 million from the EU through the Resilience Plan if timelines are not met, there is still time to achieve the September milestone.

According to the binding timelines set by the Recovery and Resilience Facility, following the cancellation of the previous tender, the contract must be signed by the end of March 2024, the delivery of 50,000 meters and installation of 15,000 of them by September 2024, and the delivery of 400,000 meters and installation of 250,000 by June 2026.