People living near the Dhekelia power station should be exempt from pollution fees on their electricity bills, MPs proposed on Tuesday.

Residents of Ormideia and Xylofagou villages again gathered at the House energy committee to air their longstanding grievances at the continued operation of the outdated – and highly polluting – power plant.

Committee chair Kyriacos Hadjiyianni said he would propose that the affected residents be exempt – or get a discount – from the pollution fee charged on electricity bills.

“We can’t subject these people to pollution and at the same time make them pay the pollution fee. It doesn’t make sense,” the MP asserted.

Akel’s Costas Costa, however, said that such a decision was not up to the Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) but rather the government.

He noted that whereas offsets given to communities are all well and good, the real issue is replacing the old turbines at the power station.

Representatives of the local communities voiced their frustration at the fact that the Dhekelia plant continues using six turbines that burn mazut, or heavy fuel oil.

They pointed out that the EAC had promised to retire these machines by 2018. Instead, the EAC got an extension first until 2023, and now to 2029.

Some of the locals said they were so exasperated they were ready to “rise up”.

They also claimed that offsets, or compensatory benefits, do little to alleviate the situation and amount to just window-dressing.

Responding to the criticism, EAC chairman Giorgos Petrou spoke of €45,000 being allocated to Ormideia to upgrade a park there, while €600,000 has been requested for works at Xylotymbou.

EAC officials reiterated that the Dhekelia facility is necessary for the stable operation of the electricity grid. The organisation has put out a tender seeking two 12 Mw generators, and the bids are expected to come in sometime next Month.

Regarding the existing turbines, they continue to operate despite the fact that the manufacturer’s 18,000 lifetime hours have lapsed.

The power station has six steam turbines and six internal combustion turbines.

Hadjiyiannis called this state of affairs unacceptable.

“It means more suffering for the residents, until 2029. And unfortunately, these turbines will be of the open-cycle gas type. This means they will work longer and will also pollute more… outdated technology.”

The Disy MP slammed the authorities for not planning ahead.

Last September lawmakers had heard that readings of pollutants in the area were high – 1,700 mg per cubic metre of sulfur dioxide, 450mg per cubic metre of nitrogen oxide, and 50mg per cubic metre of micro-particles.

A scientist had testified how black smoke billows from the outdated plant’s smokestacks, visible “at all hours”. He also reported residue deposits, appearing as either dry or wet particles resembling oil droplets or bits of coal, that damage leaves and clothing.