Forty medium-voltage outages had been recorded by noon on Saturday in the power grid due to inclement weather, while there are also a great many smaller, local low-voltage outages, AHK Press Spokesperson Christina Papadopoulou, explaining to KYPE that the outage has caused power cuts in many areas. Specifically, these include seven areas of Nicosia—Anageia, Engomi, Kokkinotrimithia, Agioi Konstantinos and Eleni, Agioi Omologites, Pigenia, and Pano Pyrgos in Tylliria.
In Limassol, the outages are affecting 15 areas. These include the areas of Agios Amvrosios, Agios Therapontos, Alassa, Asgata, Asomatos, Eptagonia, Kellaki, Pano Kivides, Koilani, Monagrouli, Parekklisia, Pera Pedi, Pyrgos Limassol, Souni, and Trachoni.
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In Famagusta, the outage is limited to the community of Avgorou. In Larnaca, six areas are affected: the Agios Nikolaos area and the communities of Melini, Meneou, Odou, Ora, and Pervolia.
In Paphos, the outage affects nine areas—Pano Akourdalia, Amargeti, Argaka, Kato Gialia, Letymbou, Lysos, Nikokleia, Skoulli, and Drymou. There are also 16 scheduled power outages.
According to Ms. Papadopoulou, the outages are due to intense lightning activity and strong winds, which resulted, among other things, in tree branches falling onto EAC power lines.
Call for citizens to contact the AHK only in case of emergencies
As Ms. Papadopoulou noted, all EAC crews throughout Cyprus are on standby and have been reinforced, while efforts are underway to restore power as quickly as possible. She added that call centers have also been reinforced with additional staff; however, the number of calls received by the AHK is very high.
For this reason, Ms. Papadopoulou urged the public to contact the EAC call center at 1800 only in cases of serious incidents, such as a fire on a utility pole, uprooted utility poles, or other incidents that may endanger human lives.
At the same time, it urged citizens to download the EAC Mobile app, through which they can, in the section on power outages, stay informed about outages by district, the time they occurred, and the expected restoration time.
Referring to serious incidents that were reported, she said that a fire broke out in the Kokkinotrimithia area, burning a utility pole, while in other areas strong winds caused problems with the power lines.
She made special mention of the serious problem that had been reported since the morning in the Avgorou area, where, according to Ms. Papadopoulou, lightning caused extensive damage to EAC equipment, requiring its replacement.
She explained that when branches or other foreign objects fall onto the power lines, the power grid’s self-protection systems are triggered, resulting in a power outage. Subsequently, crew members must go to the area and inspect the line section by section to rule out the possibility of damage to the equipment caused by lightning, a fallen tree, or a severed wire.
Ms. Papadopoulou also referred to instances where sparks are observed on the cables due to strong winds. When asked whether the sparks observed on the wires might be due to damage to the power grid, she explained that “when branches hit the wires and one wire comes into contact with another, it causes the sparks.”
He added that “if there is dry vegetation beneath our power lines” and sparks fall onto it, a fire may result.
He also noted that such incidents naturally cause concern among the public and that “people are right to call,” as the EAC wants to be informed of such cases at all costs.
“An inspection must be carried out to ensure public safety,” he said, explaining that this is why it takes time to restore power.
Explaining the severity of medium-voltage failures, Ms. Papadopoulou noted that such a fault in the grid can simultaneously affect several areas or neighboring villages and, therefore, a single failure does not necessarily affect just one area.
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