Power cuts returns to TRNC as South Cyprus stop energy sharing

The TRNC has been plagued into darkness resulting from power cuts after south Cyprus who provides the TRNC with 70 megawatt of electricity suspends its power sharing with the north.

According to Caglayan Cesurer, the chairman of Kib-Tek workers’ union El-Sen, there is a 70 megawatt energy deficit in the north due to the suspension of energy sharing by the south.

Speaking to local media, Cesurer said that alternating power cuts across the north have begun, as there simply is not enough power being generated to keep all of the electricity on.

He explained that the “chronic problem” of power cuts in the TRNC is unpreventable, due to the failure of two power plants donated to Kib-Tek from Turkey and another belonging to private energy company Aksa.

Another cause of the power cuts, he said, is the fact that south Cyprus no longer supply power to the north as its own energy needs have increased. Therefore, he said, the surplus that at one time could have been sent to the north no longer exists.

To solve this problem, he said that the north’s power plants must be better maintained.

But on Thursday morning, the south of Cyprus started to supply electricity to the north of Cyprus again but this time only 15 MW.

This is coming following a "diplomatic" initiatives initiated to increase this to 40 MW.