“We won’t have cheaper electricity—in the sense of significant reductions.”
That is the view of Auditor General Andreas Papakonstantinou, who was asked to comment, during the premiere of the Alpha Kalimera show for the new television season, regarding the government’s efforts to bring natural gas to the country and implement measures to reduce energy costs. He noted that the cost of energy infrastructure—such as the completion of construction projects at the Vasilikos Terminal—will be passed on to consumers, resulting in price increases, rather than decreases in the price of electricity.
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“We have sent a letter to the Ministry; we are concerned about the implementation of the project. It appears that in their effort to expedite the project, they have divided the work, and someone else will be responsible for maintenance. The Ministry has split the project so that one party will build it and another will maintain it. You can imagine that they won’t be concerned with using the best materials.”
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Regarding progress on the Cyprus-Greece electricity interconnection via the GSI pipeline, Mr. Papakonstantinou believes that this is a project with political implications and is not intended to reduce electricity prices.
“It’s important to have a choice; it will help develop renewable energy sources, but there’s also a debate about the project’s sustainability. The cost will be passed on to consumers for 30–40 years, since there will be no revenue. We view the project as necessary within the strategic framework for electricity. We are waiting to see the results of the new studies.”
At the same time, the Auditor General notes stagnation and delays in the investigation of various cases and expresses “frustration” over the situation. He cited as an example the case of an illegal farm in a Natura area, which came to light four years ago and, to this day, has not been inspected by the Veterinary Services. As he noted, he has in fact recently sent a letter to the Attorney General asking him to take up the case.
