Cyprus braces for power cuts in midst of heatwave

NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cyprus braced itself for power cuts in the midst of a scorching heatwave on Wednesday as electricity workers called a strike over authorities' plans to introduce LNG to the market in the next three years.

Power supplies were not expected to be affected island-wide, but with demand for electricity at a maximum, outages in some areas would be inevitable, operator EAC said in a statement.

"We will try to keep any inconvenience to consumers to an absolute minimum," said Andreas Panorkos, head of one of the EAC labor unions which called the three-hour strike.

Temperatures were expected to scale to 42 degrees (108 Fahrenheit) on Wednesday as the Mediterranean island wilted in the grip of a summer heatwave which started on June 24.

Although islanders are hardened to the heat, one person died of heatstroke on Monday, and several people, including tourists, required hospital treatment on Tuesday.

A stifling heatwave killed at least 50 people in 1998.

Authorities have urged people to avoid sun exposure and manual work.

The EAC, which runs Cyprus's power grid, opposes government plans to create liquefied natural gas storage units offshore, calling the plan a waste of government money.

The government says it is the best and fastest option available to get LNG on stream by 2009, a commitment it has made to the European Union to switch to cleaner forms of energy.