Lawmakers on Tuesday called for legislation that would guarantee compensatory benefits to the residents of communities located near the highly polluting Dhekelia power station.

MPs also said the law should mandate that the Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) pay these offset benefits, and not transfer these extra costs on to consumers.

Three MPs – Yiannakis Gavriel and Costas Costa of Akel, and Disy’s Kyriacos Hadjiyiannis – had jointly drafted a bill aiming to make the payment of offset benefits a statutory requirement, rather than leave it to the EAC’s discretion, as is the case now.

However they were swiftly informed by the attorney-general’s office that such a statutory arrangement cannot be made via a legislative proposal – a bill tabled by members of parliament.

This is because the offset benefits would represent an extra cost. The constitution of Cyprus, however, bars the legislature from on its own passing an act that leads to increased government expenditure. Therefore, the attorney-general’s office said, such legislation would have to come from the government.

The EAC is a state-run organisation.

Akel MP Andreas Pashiourtides expressed disappointment.

“If this is the view of the state’s legal advisor [meaning the attorney-general] then it is flagrantly obvious that such a decision must come from the government,” he said.

“I do not want to believe that the government will differentiate between areas entitled to offset benefits, and areas that are not.”

He was alluding to the fact that another law, already in force, mandates offset benefits for the communities in proximity to the Vasiliko power plant.

Pashiourtides recalled that the Dhekelia station ought to have shut down years ago as the existing turbines had a manufacturer’s lifetime of 18,000 hours – which has long since lapsed.

The EAC had promised to retire these machines by 2018. Instead, it got an extension first until 2023, and now to 2029.

The old turbines are contributing to the pollution of the area, as do the smokestacks.

Other MPs said the old machines must be retired and replaced by new ones.

Last September parliamentarians 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A scientist had at the time testified how black smoke billows from the outdated plant’s smokestacks, visible “at all hours”.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.

On Tuesday, Edek MP Andreas Apostolou said there are two tracks that must be followed: first, statutory offset benefits for the affected communities – essentially the villages of Ormideia and Xylofagou. Secondly, constant monitoring of emissions and pollutant levels around the Dhekelia station along with an effort to replace the current outdated equipment.

During a session of the House energy committee in late February, some of the locals said they were so exasperated they were ready to “rise up”.

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