There seems to be electricity sufficiency today with an availability of 1023 megawatts and an expected demand between 1000-1060 megawatts during midday hours, the press representative of the Cyprus Transmission System Operator (TSO), Chara Koussiappa, told KYPE.
Ms. Kousiappa noted that there will be sufficiency unless a breakdown occurs in a production unit, a matter for which the Acting EAC Press Representative, Dimitris Nathanael, told KYPE that “breakdowns are unforeseeable events”, stating that a complete picture of the total breakdowns/disconnections of the Authority's Generation Units will exist after the end of the summer period (June-July-August '24).
Demand will rise to the levels of the corresponding day last year, he says the DSMC
“Today it seems that we will have electricity sufficiency, with the availability of 1023 megawatts, except in the case of damage to a production unit,” Hara Kushiappa told KYPE, when asked about it.
As she said, the maximum demand is expected to rise between 1000-1060 megawatts during midday hours, while during the evening peak it will range between 880-900 megawatts.
“Today has data corresponding to the same day last year, that is, the demand will rise to the levels of the corresponding day last year. This is evident from our data and forecasts, which are assessed at any time 24 hours a day by the Energy Control Center and corresponding decisions are made,” noted the press representative of the DSMK.
In response to a question from KYPE, Mrs. Kousiappa said that today no announcement is expected to be issued regarding the limitation of electricity consumption, unless unforeseen. “If there is such a case, we will inform accordingly”, he concluded.
EAC: After the end of the summer period, a complete picture of faults
The reporting of damage from EAC is not an uncommon phenomenon and its effect on electricity sufficiency is self-evident. When asked the Acting Press Representative of the EAC, Dimitris Nathanael, how the breakdowns in the EAC network occur, he noted that the “breakdowns” can be due either to the electrical network or to a problem in the electricity generation system.
“In the case where it is an insignificant damage to a production unit, which the crews can handle quickly, i.e. within 15 minutes, the electricity supply is restored, due to the fact that the rapid start-up spare units that EAC has come into operation”, he explained.< /p>
“In the case of serious damage to a production unit, time is required for specialized work to be carried out by the Authority's workshops, therefore the electricity supply is not restored immediately, but within a few hours”, he pointed out.
“Failures are unpredictable events, which occur in all the world's electrical networks,” he stressed. “They are cables exposed to extreme weather conditions and as in all cases where electro-mechanical equipment is involved it is expected that there will be failures, especially in cases of prolonged heat,” he noted.
He further explained that “outages” and “planned power outages” are two very different things, since planned outages are communicated to consumers in advance, while outages occur unpredictably.
At the same time, he added. , the time to repair the damage always depends on the circumstance, since a damage can be repaired within a short period of 15 minutes or it can take several hours.
The “planned power outages”, explained Mr. Nathanael, concern the cases where it is necessary to upgrade the network, the maintenance of the network and new extensions/services to properties that request underground electricity. For example, when a customer requests underground electrification of his property (thus extension of the EAC underground network), then a power cut in the area is required. In this case, he added, the residents who will be affected are informed 48 hours in advance and information is provided through the EAC website and through the EAC Mobile App.
“The Authority has a reliable system, which it constantly upgrades with state-of-the-art equipment and constantly maintains – hence the planned power outages,” Dimitris Nathanael emphasized.
As for interruptions due to the power grid, there are various possibilities, he said. “It could be damage to an individual house, or it could be damage affecting a particular neighborhood, such as damage to a low voltage cable.” In cases where it affects a larger area, i.e. more than one neighborhood, then the damage is to the Medium Voltage network, he added.
Mr. Nathanael said that there are also interruptions in the underground network due to damage to the EAC cables. caused by contractors excavating the area. “There are also interruptions in the underground network from the prolonged heat combined with high humidity,” he said.
EAC, he noted, has 16,500 km of overhead cables of the low and medium voltage network, adding that for this reason it does not stop pruning and cleaning under its transformers. “There are also 12,000 km of underground cables in the cities”, he noted.
“It is important in cases where a fault occurs that the EAC is informed in time so that our crews can go to the scene immediately and restore the electricity supply “, he emphasized, calling on the public to inform the Authority immediately so that any suffering can be avoided for them and the people of the EAC.
As he explained, the EAC 1800 Telephone Center in cases of bad weather or a problem in the Production System where a large number of consumers are affected, cannot respond to the thousands of incoming calls. Therefore, he pointed out, the understanding of consumers is requested and they can wait patiently to hear the audio message where all the breakdowns are reported by Province or be updated through the EAC website or through the free EAC Mobile App, where all power outages, planned and unplanned, and the expected restoration time are listed.
Asked if the number of outages has increased or decreased compared to last year, Mr. Nathanael said that “after the end of the summer period (June-July-August '24) we will have a comprehensive picture regarding all the breakdowns/disconnections of the Authority's Production Units in relation to last year's corresponding period”. That is, as he explained, “we will be able to answer the question whether the damages were more, the same or less”.
