Breaking news

Cyprus Faces Energy Strain As Cold Wave Hits: Authorities Call For Power Conservation

A cold wave sweeping across Cyprus threatens to test the island’s energy infrastructure in the coming days. Chará Kousiappa, spokesperson for the Cyprus Transmission System Operator (TSOC), warned that the country could face serious challenges as energy demand surges.

“It will be a tough situation,” Kousiappa told the Cyprus News Agency. “We’re already seeing very high demand, and we’re continuously assessing the situation. We hope things will go smoothly, but we’re ready to act if necessary.”

The cold front is expected to hit shortly, with the most critical period for electricity demand falling between 6:00 PM and 9:00 PM—when renewable energy production drops off. During these peak hours, the power supply will be under significant pressure, as several key power units are offline due to scheduled maintenance or technical issues.

TSOC is closely monitoring the situation, and Kousiappa hopes that some of the power units currently under repair at the Dhekelia and Vasilikos stations can be brought back online before temperatures fall. She also emphasized the importance of energy conservation, urging the public to reduce electricity usage during peak hours and shift high-energy tasks, like laundry and dishwashing, to the day when solar power is at its peak.

As Cyprus braces for a difficult few days, authorities are calling on citizens to play their part in ensuring the stability of the island’s power grid.

Cyprus GDP Growth Accelerates To 3.3% In Q2 2026 As Employment Rises

Cyprus’ seasonally adjusted GDP grew 0.8% in the second quarter of 2026 from the previous quarter, while employment increased 0.5%, according to Eurostat data.

Compared with the second quarter of 2025, GDP rose 3.3% and employment increased 1.6%. Quarterly economic growth accelerated from 0.5% in the first quarter.

Cyprus Growth Picks Up In Second Quarter

The 0.8% quarterly expansion followed growth of 1.2% in the fourth quarter of 2025 and 0.8% in the third quarter. Annual growth also accelerated to 3.3% from 3% in the first quarter, after reaching 4.2% in the fourth quarter and 3.5% in the third quarter of 2025.

Employment growth resumed after remaining unchanged in the first quarter. The 0.5% quarterly increase followed gains of 0.7% in the fourth quarter and 0.5% in the third quarter of 2025.

Annual employment growth slowed to 1.6% in the second quarter from 2% in both the first quarter of 2026 and the fourth quarter of 2025. Growth stood at 1.4% in the third quarter of 2025.

EU Growth Strengthens

Across the EU, GDP increased 0.7% in the second quarter from the previous quarter, while euro area output rose 0.6%. Both figures marked a sharp acceleration from the first quarter, when EU GDP grew 0.1% and euro area GDP was unchanged.

Year on year, GDP increased 1.4% in the EU and 1.2% in the euro area, up from 0.9% and 0.6%, respectively, in the previous quarter.

Ireland recorded the strongest quarterly growth at 10.2%, followed by Slovenia at 1.8% and Lithuania at 1.7%. Austria was the only member state to record a contraction, with GDP falling 0.1%.

Consumption And Trade Support Growth

Household consumption contributed 0.2 percentage points to quarterly growth in both the euro area and the EU. Net exports added 0.9 percentage points in the euro area and 0.8 points in the EU.

Inventory changes reduced growth by 0.5 percentage points in both regions. Gross fixed capital formation had little impact in the euro area and added 0.1 percentage points in the EU.

Employment increased 0.1% quarter on quarter in both the euro area and the EU. Annual employment growth reached 0.5% in the euro area and 0.4% in the EU, with 221.4 million people employed across the EU and 176.4 million in the euro area.

Hours worked increased 0.1% in both regions from the previous quarter. Compared with a year earlier, hours worked rose 0.7% in the euro area and 0.8% in the EU.

Employment Trends Vary Across Europe

Portugal recorded the strongest quarterly employment growth at 1%, followed by the Czech Republic and Malta at 0.9% each. Finland saw the largest decline, at 0.8%, followed by Greece at 0.4%.

In the United States, GDP increased 0.4% from the previous quarter and 2.1% year on year.

Uol
The Future Forbes Realty Global Properties
Aretilaw firm
eCredo

Become a Speaker

Become a Speaker

Become a Partner

Subscribe for our weekly newsletter