Cyprus provides northern breakaway part with power

Turkish-Cypriot authorities are receiving electricity from the Republic of Cyprus until August 17 after a scarcity of funds coupled with technical glitches pushed the north to the verge of a power shortage.

According to Turkish-Cypriot media, the request came after damage at a power station in the occupied areas and a delay in getting fuel supplies to produce electricity.

Turkish Cypriots are no strangers to power shortages, as frequent problems at power stations and shortages of funds force KIB-TEK, the electricity authority in the north, to authorize scheduled outages.

In an interview with Turkish-Cypriot daily YeniDuzen, the head of KIB-TEK’s board of directors, Turan Buyukyilmaz, said the authority is dangerously low on fuel.

He stressed that if storage tanks are not refilled soon, fuel supplies will be drained within three days.

If technical issues faced by KIB-TEK’s outdated power stations – with emissions way off the charts and delays in fuel arrivals – were not enough, it is also in financial trouble.

A lack of funds, coupled with the unwillingness of major institutions to pay their bills on time, ensured the authority’s debt reached unprecedented heights.

Major clients, including institutions, appear reluctant to pay their bills on time, with the authority frequently cutting their power supply.

In June, KIB-TEK cut the power to the Turkish-Cypriot broadcaster Bayrak in a move to force it to pay old bills. [Financial Mirror]