Rolling power cuts in Cyprus have ended, but may resume

Rolling power cuts in Cyprus ended on the evening of 22 July after generation was once again able to meet demand. However, the Cyprus Transmission System Operator has not ruled out further restrictions in the coming days, including possible outages as early as 23 July.

The restrictions began at 18:52 and affected six of the 22 consumer groups. Each group was disconnected for approximately 20 minutes.

The cause was a combination of simultaneous failures at the Cyprus Electricity Authority’s generating units at the power stations in Dhekelia and Vasilikos. The system was placed under additional strain by the intense heat, which caused electricity consumption to rise sharply.

The Transmission System Operator had previously warned that the evening peak demand period from 18:00 to 22:00 would push the power system to the limits of its capacity. Any new malfunction could have led to a shortage of available power.

According to operator representative Charis Zavallis, a large generating unit at Vasilikos broke down on 21 July, and it is not expected to return to service before next week. With demand forecast to reach 1,090 MW, available capacity stood at around 1,143 MW, leaving only a minimal reserve margin.

Two additional generating units are scheduled to be brought online on 23 July. However, if high temperatures persist, the risk of further outages will remain — the decision will depend on the amount of generation available and the level of consumption.

In July, Cyprus’s power system has already faced several serious disruptions. Four major incidents occurred during the first three weeks of the month, while electricity consumption approached record levels.