Significant efforts are underway to reduce the cost of producing electricity, Economy and Energy Minister Özdil Nami has said.
Improvement to grid infrastructure and increasing efficiency in energy production were two of the ways to bring cheaper electricity to consumers, he said.
Touching upon the issue of conveying electricity via undersea cable from Turkey, Nami said that such a project would need at least two years, if an agreement was signed today.
“If it is going to take least two years for electricity to be brought from Turkey we will need to change our existing types of generators”, he said.
Nami pointed out that the issue had been discussed with EU officials and that experts had stated that interconnectivity with Turkey would not affect the grid and would be beneficial for the whole of Cyprus.
“The issue, therefore, is not technical but political and therefore there is a need for diplomacy”, he said.
Stating that he supported the idea of inter-connectivity with Turkey, Nami said that such a project would cost around 400-500 million dollars.
“We are however not at a stage to give the green light”, he added.
BRT
