 In 2010, the maximum demand had reached 1,144 MW, the highest ever, and an even higher one was expected in 2011.As a precondition to the accession of Cyprus to the European Union, the local market for electricity generation has been opened to private companies, but so far no private power plants have been built, although four licenses have been granted by Cyprus Energy Regulatory Authority.In the meanwhile, the EAC diversified into communication and cable television services in cooperation with a private company.