Govt demands EAC action to prevent fire risks

The government on Thursday asked the Electricity of Cyprus (EAC) to take a series of steps to mitigate the risk of fires being caused by faulty equipment or power cables.

At a meeting with the EAC, Agriculture Minister Maria Panayiotou asked the state power corporation to take four such measures. Also attending the meeting were officials of the Department of Forests and the Fire Department.

“The reason for the meeting was that during August we’ve had three fires in forested areas that were caused by [power] cables,” Panayiotou told journalists later.

“From June 7 through to August 19 we counted seven fires in forested areas that were caused by the EAC grid. Of these, three fires broke out in August – on August 4, 10 and 19.”

The minister wants the EAC to come back with answers to her specific demands by their next meeting, scheduled for August 30.

Regarding Thursday’s discussion, she said the response of the EAC was “very positive”.

The organisation has been asked to update its timetable regarding the replacement of faulty equipment, giving priority to equipment installed in forested areas.

“The studies for replacing cables began in April 2024, and are ongoing,” explained Panayiotou. “I’ve asked that the programme be updated so that we can monitor that it is within the timetable submitted.”

Secondly, the EAC must immediately develop a mechanism to monitor problematic cables in both forested areas and in communities.

“This is the most urgent thing we want done now, as we have cables that become loose due to the weather conditions, problems with the transformers, and cables which run through tree branches, which should already have been cleared.”

Thirdly, the minister asked the EAC to improve its response in cases where fires break out during the night. According to the minister, the average response time of the Department of Forests and the Fire Department is about 12 minutes.

“But we noticed that there’s a considerable delay when it comes to the EAC arriving on the scene to cut the power off, so that firefighters can start operating.”

Lastly, the EAC must develop a mechanism for the removal of trimmed tree branches.