Parliament insists on €13.7 million compensation to communities affected by Dhekelia plant

Parliament on Thursday doubled down on a law it had passed earlier this month compelling the Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) to spend a specified amount as compensation to residents of villages near the Dhekelia power plant.

The House had voted through the law on October 2, but the president refused to sign off on it and sent it back to parliament.

Parliament had the option of accepting the president’s referral or rejecting it. As it happened, on Thursday the House rejected the referral – meaning the matter will now be decided in court.

Until such time as the court delivers its final judgment, the law cannot come into force.

The president had refused to sign off on the law because it specified the compensation amount that the EAC should pay communities in proximity to the Dhekelia power station – €13.7 million.

This amount would have been paid out to the affected communities starting from the date of coming into force of the law up until October 1, 2035. It was left to the discretion of the EAC how to pay the €13.7 million – in tranches or all at once.

The communities are Xylotymbou, Xylofagou, Ormideia and Achna.

The president’s key objection is that the legislature may not designate expenditures by public-law entities – in this case the EAC. Only the executive branch of government has the authority to do so.

In his referral, the president had asked parliamentarians to remove the clause that specified the amount. He also noted that funds have been allocated as compensation to the communities.

On the House floor, MPs asked why the president is challenging the law they passed on October 2 – given that the law is a “carbon copy” of that relating to compensating communities near the Vasiliko power plant.

Akel’s Andreas Pashiourtides dismissed criticism that the coming legal standoff over the law would leave communities near Dhekelia in limbo.

The EAC can on its own provide compensation to them, without the need for a specific legislation, he said.

“It cannot be that we have to beg them [meaning the EAC] to do the self-evident,” remarked Pashiourtides.

Diko MP Pavlos Mylonas asked rhetorically whether state officials could “ever live” near Dhekelia with all the toxic pollutants.