Newsroom
Crews are working around the clock to restore electricity in fire-hit areas of Limassol, but the effort remains slow and complex, authorities said Monday.
Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) spokesperson Christina Papadopoulou told the Cyprus News Agency that repairs are advancing steadily, with about 150 workers on site. Sixteen crews from across the island and 11 excavators are clearing roads and replacing poles in hard-to-reach locations.
By late Sunday, crews had replaced 300 of the 500 poles destroyed in the blaze. Eleven of 50 transformers have been installed and switched on, and 12 kilometers of medium-voltage lines have been rebuilt, Papadopoulou said. The fire initially damaged about 80 kilometers of the network. Crews have also removed roughly 200 poles left dangerously exposed on the ground.
“The work is exhausting and costly. Opening roads for access alone takes significant time,” Papadopoulou said. “Our top priority is to restore the network safely and as quickly as possible.”
Papadopoulou explained that full power restoration requires rebuilding the medium-voltage network first, followed by transformer activation, and then reconnection of the low-voltage lines to individual homes. Houses that escaped damage will receive power as soon as their area’s transformer is operational, while damaged properties will need new electrical systems and inspections before reconnection, she said.
Calling the repair effort a “massive task,” Papadopoulou noted that the mountainous terrain adds to the difficulty. “We are doing everything we can to get the lights back on,” she said.
With information from CNA.
