It appears that the government has underestimated the scale of the negative consequences arising from the ongoing labor crisis at the Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) and is essentially "playing with fire."

There is no other explanation for the "apathetic stance" maintained by the Energy Minister Michalis Damianou, during a 30-minute meeting held the day before yesterday with the leadership of the unions organized within the EAC. As revealed in a previous statement  the Minister made no mention of the striking workers, causing uneasiness and distress among the trade unions—sentiments they later expressed publicly.

The 24-hour strike began at midnight on Wednesday. The risk of power outages is more than visible, especially if weather conditions remain unstable today. Even the proceedings of the Informal EU Heads of State Summit may be affected, potentially leading to unpredictable developments. Consequently, hotel generators where the Summit is being held have been put on "high alert."

The uninterrupted supply of electricity for households and industry now rests on the shoulders of six shift workers at the Dhekelia Power Station. Based on arrangements made by the union movement, it was decided that 50% of the shift handling the generators—consisting of six people plus a supervisor—would remain on duty.

"It is no exaggeration to say that the electricity supply today is hanging by a thread," observed a senior EAC official.

Information obtained by Brief suggests that the Presidency was alarmed by the revelation that no mention was made of the workers' dynamic mobilization during the initial meeting.

Following the public outcry and media interventions by unionists yesterday at noon, Mr. Damianou attempted to contact the unions to reschedule a meeting. Through his secretary, the Minister invited union leadership to a meeting on April 29. It is not yet known if this proposal has been accepted. The unions have asked to know if the government intends to propose specific suggestions to solve the critical problems facing the EAC; as of the time of reporting, no answer has been received.

Andreas Matsas (General Secretary of SEK) and Sotiroula Charalambous (General Secretary of PEO) stated that they will not sit idly by. They expressed deep disappointment at the official stance on such a serious energy issue, asserting that they are fighting for the sustainability of the Organization rather than financial demands.

• Andreas Matsas (SEK): He blames the government for creating friction between the EAC and Cyta. He says workers are striking to protect the organization and the public because the EAC was ignored in major decisions.
• Sotiroula Charalambous (PEO): She claims the government is favoring private interests over regular people and has no clear energy plan, using the Minister’s silence on the strike as proof.

Kyriakos Tafounas (SEK): He states the strike is about saving the EAC as a public service, not money. He doubts the Minister can fix high prices or power shortages. He highlighted that the EAC has millions in idle investments while being asked to shoulder the cost of critical upgrades, such as those at the Dhekelia station. Noting that, if these long-term problems aren't fixed, the strikes will definitely get worse.

Michalis Damianou stated that he is not the sole decision-maker, as CERA (Cyprus Energy Regulatory Authority) and the CPA (Commission for the Protection of Competition) are also involved. "There are many problems and we must work together to solve them," he said, adding that these are issues spanning 15 years and cannot be resolved overnight.

According to an official EAC announcement, Customer Service Centers and offices will remain closed due to the 24-hour pan-Cypriot strike. However, the Authority stated that the operation of critical infrastructure affecting consumers is not expected to be impacted.

Source: Brief