The Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) said on Tuesday it is striving to reduce its carbon footprint and adopt best practices at the workplace during a presentation of its sustainability report for 2023.
It is the second such report ever issued by the EAC, covering corporate social responsibility as well as ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) matters.
EAC chairman Giorgos Petrou said the organisation has to operate in a challenging energy environment that requires “business logic, flexibility, efficiency, openness and a customer-centric approach”.
In 2021 the EAC’s total revenues came to €835 million compared to €1.3 billion in 2022 and €1.2 billion in 2023.
At the end of 2023, the number of employees was 2,223.
Total installed power – from conventional fuel and from renewables – came to 1,500 megawatts. Total water production (desalinated water) was 12 metric tonnes.
The EAC has 615,000 customers in total.
The organisation, he said, is undertaking “systematic efforts” to cut back on waste, resources usage and raw materials, while adopting renewables.
All the turbines at the flagship power station at Vasiliko have been converted to work with natural gas in the future. In addition, new turbines will be installed at the Dhekelia power plant.
Meanwhile the EAC is gradually replacing its fleet, switching to electric-powered vehicles.
The organisation carries out air quality control checks around the power plants.
According to Petrou, the planned importation of natural gas will lead to a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The carbon content of natural gas per thermal kilowatt-hour is approximately 30 per cent less than that in heavy fuel oil.
On recycling, the EAC works with Green Dot for paper and PMD.
On giving back to the community, between 2015 and 2023 the organisation spent €1.5 million on various local projects. These included building sports facilities, restoring churches, installing street lighting and fixing water tanks.
Regarding governance issues, the EAC says it’s an equal-opportunity employer that tolerates no forms of discrimination. In 2023, not a single incident of forced work or violation of human rights was reported.
The organisation employs 1,880 men and 366 women. However, when deducting technical staff – jobs taken mostly by men – the ratio of female employees comes to 47 per cent. As for the board of the EAC, four of the nine members are women.
