The Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) may have to increase production capacity by 225 megawatts by 2019 after a surge in demand, the authority’s general director, Stelios Stylianou, said. A heat wave in Cyprus since July 31, with temperatures reaching 46 degrees Celsius (115 degrees Fahrenheit), saw demand peak at 1,148 megawatts, 50 megawatts above the same period last year, Stylianou told reporters at the Vassiliko power station yesterday.
Nicosia-based EAC has a total production capacity of 1,378 megawatts which is set to rise to 1,928 megawatts after construction of two new combined-cycle gas-turbine power units. Construction of the first of these units has begun and should be completed by early 2012, he said. The EAC will be able to operate its gas turbines with natural gas as of 2014 when construction work for a new liquefied natural gas storage terminal will be completed, Stylianou said. The company is in negotiations with short-listed partners for the construction of the terminal.