By 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, the number of calls to the EAC requesting repairs had reached 18,000, while it is estimated that by the end of the day the total had reached 25,000, the organization’s press spokesperson, Christina Papadopoulou, told CNA.
“We were receiving 3,500 calls per hour,” she said, illustrating the extent of the damage caused by yesterday’s severe weather. As she noted, power has been restored to most areas affected by yesterday’s severe weather, with problems now concentrated in the Nicosia district, where Nicosia crews are being reinforced by crews from Limassol.
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“In Nicosia, there are still a great many small, localized outages,” she said, which were caused by the effects of the extreme weather.
Due to the increased number of calls, the EAC spokesperson urged the public to use the EAC’s (EAC Mobile App), which she explained the organization’s staff monitors in real time.
Major outages have been repaired
Regarding major network outages involving medium-voltage faults, Ms. Papadopoulou stated that they have been repaired. Explaining the scope of such a fault, she said, “A medium-voltage fault can affect as many as 10,000 people. These faults were repaired around 7 p.m.,” she said, adding that approximately 40 such faults had been recorded across Cyprus.
He explained that damage to the grid was caused “by objects falling onto the wires or by utility poles toppling over. The winds were so strong that utility poles were uprooted, and transformers were also damaged after being struck by lightning.” He also said that “various house roofs and solar panels were blown off,” which ended up on the EAC power lines.
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“The damage was enormous. We have a great many low-voltage faults, such as, for example, blown fuses in home power supplies,” said Ms. Papadopoulou.
When asked what a minor fault means for consumers, she explained that “minor local faults also result in power outages, but they affect a much smaller number of consumers. They might affect two houses, five houses—not 10,000,” she said.
Repair crews in Nicosia have been reinforced
According to Ms. Papadopoulou, all repair crews in Nicosia are on standby and have been reinforced by crews from other districts.
“The crews in Nicosia have been reinforced by crews from Limassol and other cities,” she said, adding that aerial work platforms have also been deployed, “which are mainly needed for tree trimming or for restoring power lines.”
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“We’re going from one outage to the next,” he said, noting that crews have to handle a very large number of incidents.
“There’s an overwhelming amount of work. I’m talking to colleagues who’ve been in Nicosia since yesterday and have been working nonstop. I feel people’s frustration; I sense it, I see it, but the weather conditions and the damage were unprecedented,” he said.
Reporting Outages via the App
Regarding the number of phone calls received by the EAC, the organization’s spokesperson stated that “as of 7 p.m. yesterday, we had received approximately 18,000 calls,” noting that at certain times, the call center was receiving about 3,500 calls per hour.
“You can imagine the scale of it. No matter how many people we had answering calls, it was impossible to respond to all of them,” she said.
Referring to the frustration of citizens who complain that they cannot reach the EAC, Ms. Papadopoulou said that “there are far too many calls,” noting that the issues are being logged and that the call centers have been staffed with additional personnel.
When asked what consumers who cannot reach the EAC by phone can do, she urged them to use the Authority’s app to report the issue.
“Through our app, you can report a problem and, with location services enabled, specify the exact location of the outage,” he said, explaining that this allows them “to see exactly where it is and what the problem is, so that it can be forwarded to the repair crews.” He added that the reports are forwarded to the repair crews.
He reiterated that consumers can receive updates via the app about the areas where outages have been reported, as well as through the call center’s recorded message.
“There is a recorded message that lists the areas where outages have been reported,” he said, explaining that this way, citizens can know that the EAC is already aware of the problem in their area.
What Can Be Done Preventively
When asked whether preventive measures can be taken to avoid such problems in the event of extreme weather conditions, Ms. Papadopoulou said that the AHK is carrying out maintenance and tree-trimming work.
“We are moving forward and pruning wherever there are trees that are close to our power lines. We have a program focused mainly on key areas and forested areas,” she said, adding that “we conduct patrols to identify areas with large trees and go there to prune them. However, we also urge the public—private individuals—to take care of their own vegetation,” he added.
A similar call, he said, is directed at local authorities. “We also urge municipalities and communities to take care of their vegetation, because if a tree falls on our power lines, it immediately causes a power outage.”
He emphasized that “what we definitely do is continuously maintain our network,” noting, however, that under conditions of very severe weather, problems may arise despite preventive measures.
The EAC spokesperson also mentioned that a large number of lightning rods are installed throughout the network, but noted that “when lightning activity is so intense, there are lightning strikes that can cause damage,” explaining that “what we observed was that, due to the strong winds, roofs and solar panels were blown off houses, causing them to fall onto the power lines and cut the cables. You can’t predict or prevent that,” he concluded.
