The European Commission has given Cyprus the green light to hand out 1.91 million free EU Allowances to its utilities for their 2015 emissions, according to a notice published on the EU executive’s website late Thursday.

The figure is the maximum the country is allowed to issue to its power sector for last year under the bloc’s programme to help utilities in poorer member states decarbonise their generation operations.

And with the annual Apr. 30 EU ETS compliance deadline approaching, the move means utilities in Cyprus will likely be able to surrender those allowances against their 2015 emissions.

Under Article 10c of the ETS Directive, seven mostly eastern EU member states can request free EUAs for their utilities provided the governments show they have made, or have plans to make, the necessary investments.

The seven countries have a combined 2015 derogation quota of 114.52 million EUAs, according to the European Commission data.

Cyprus in 2014 received commission approval for its entire allocation plan for the 2013-2020 period, meaning today’s move was more of a formality compared to the other participating countries.

The news makes Cyprus the fourth member state to receive the green light for 2015, after Estonia and Romania were approved last week and the Czech Republic last September.

Bulgaria, Lithuania and Poland – with a collective 2015 derogation allowance quota of nearly 77 million allowances – have yet to receive approval.

The commission has also not yet published an update for this year’s free allocations.

By Mike Szabo – mike@carbon-pulse.com