Nicosia, Cyprus. Energy Minister Michael Damianos said efforts would be made to avoid further overnight electricity cuts after generator faults led to limited outages on Wednesday night. He said 120MW of energy storage capacity expected to be installed before summer 2027 should prevent a repeat of the problems next year.
Cause of the outages
Speaking before the presentation of the Electricity Authority of Cyprus’ annual review, Damianos said the latest outages were caused by faults affecting EAC generators.
Cyprus has more than 1,000MW of conventional generation capacity and more than 1,000MW of photovoltaic production during daylight hours, he said, adding that there is no shortage of electricity during the day.
Need for storage
Damianos said the challenge arises during the first hours of the night, when temperatures remain high but solar generation is no longer available.
He said energy storage was the only long-term solution, allowing excess solar power produced during the day to be used after sunset rather than lost.
The Transmission System Operator has awarded a contract for 120MW of storage units, which are expected to arrive in Cyprus in January 2027 and be fully installed before summer, according to the minister.
Further disruptions
Damianos praised EAC staff for limiting the duration and scale of the recent outages, while acknowledging the inconvenience caused to consumers.
He said he could not predict whether further technical faults would occur, noting that operational decisions rest with the system operator, which seeks to keep any interruptions as brief as possible.
