Repair of the double fault in the overhead transmission system of Αndros

Andros’ overhead transmission system – Fault Repair

The technician crews of IPTO travelled today to Andros and at 3:30 in the afternoon, after intensive efforts, repaired the damage which the Overhead Transmission system of the island had sustained on the 6th of January, at two points.

Due to the extreme weather conditions in the Cyclades a few days before, and considering that IPTO technicians are not allowed, for safety reasons, to intervene on the Overhead Transmission Lines when gale winds are blowing, the Operator’s crews travelled to the island immediately once the extended sea-travel ban was lifted this morning.

Because of the extreme weather conditions, Andros and Tinos remained without power from 07:30, Monday, January 6th, until 13:40 of the same day. The restoration of the power supply within a few hours became possible thanks to the immediate mobilisation and close cooperation between IPTO, HEDNO and PPC, which allowed the rapid start-up of the Autonomous Power Station (APS) of Andros and the supply of power to the islands through the HEDNO grid. The APS continued to supply power without interruption until noon today, when the electricity loads of the two islands were successfully switched back to the Transmission System.   

 

As regards the background of the fault to the Transmission System, the Independent Power Transmission Operator informs the public of the following:

  • In the morning of Monday, January 6th, faults were discovered on both systems, namely the Leivadi-Andros and the Andros-Syros Transmission Lines. No damage was caused to the submarine electrical interconnections of the two islands.
  • Following the necessary attempts to electrify the transmission lines on the same day, which were unsuccessful, IPTO contacted the technical staff of HEDNO and PPC, according to the Control Center Regulation. The Operator would like to sincerely thank the technicians of the two companies for their cooperation and prompt response from the minute the fault was discovered, resulting in the speedy supply of the islands through the APS and the HEDNO grids with the minimum possible inconvenience for the residents.
  • In the morning of Thursday, January 9th, and after the sea-travel ban was lifted, IPTO's technician crews travelled to Andros where within a few hours they inspected and repaired the damage caused to the overhead transmission lines by the severe weather conditions that had lasted several days.

The Operator remains in a state of full preparedness aiming to secure the power supply of the entire country and intervenes immediately, to the extent allowed by the weather and always ensuring the safety of its staff, for the repair of any problems caused by extreme weather phenomena to the National Power Transmission System.