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Cyprus: Government looks to break energy monopoly

By  |  October 22, 2013

Cyprus’s energy monopoly, the partially state-owned Electricity Authority of Cyprus, will need to face competition for the nation to adapt to a changing global climate, the nation’s government said.

Cyprus Energy Minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis made a speech Monday at an EAC presentation of its 2012 operations to announce new efforts to open the nation up to competition in the electricity industry as early as next year.

In his speech, the minister described EAC’s need to increase its competitiveness as “urgent.”

”The authority cannot continue operating under the status of a monopoly,” he said.

Earlier this year, government officials established an energy watchdog to review the market and identify barriers to competition. While the market is open for new entrants, EAC claims it has maintained its monopoly status due to the artificially low rates of return.

Full content: Cyprus Mail

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