The replacement of naked electricity cables in the Paphos forest and improvements to the power system at the Stavros tis Psokas forestry station are proceeding according to the set timeframe, the electricity authority (EAC) said on Monday.
“We have received the go-ahead from the environment department to underground part of the network and replace naked cables in the remaining part with covered conductors and other safety elements,” EAC spokeswoman Christina Papadopoulou told the Cyprus Mail.
The Stavros tis Psokas forestry station and a part of the surrounding network had been cut off from the grid following a fire in July last year. The station has been powered by generators for the over one year since.
At the time, the forestry department director had blamed the authority for failing to adequately maintain its network. The department had subsequently presented evidence that a significant number of forest fires were due to uninsulated and worn out EAC cables.
“Works have started with the digging of holes for poles to be implanted to replace naked wires with upgraded twisted twin cables,” Papadopoulou said.
Other measures to secure the safety of the network running over trees in the forest and preventing sparks setting fire to undergrowth, include covering transformers and installing bird diverters.
Designed to make overhead lines visible and prevent perching, these provide a cost-efficient means of reducing hazards to both cables and birds.
Around 11km of overhead cable from Kambos tis Tsakistras to Horteri hill are set to be reinforced in this manner, safeguarding power supply to antennas belonging to telecommunication companies Cyta and Epic, as well as those belonging to the police force and the civil aviation, Papadopoulou said.
A leg of 14km starting west of the village of Lysos and leading up to the foothills of the forest are to be undergrounded, she said.
The works are expected to continue throughout October.
Papadopoulou clarified that undergrounding of cables can only be carried out in asphalted areas, to protect the lines from exposure following heavy rain or other means of erosion.
The aerial grid safety works are being carried out in coordination with the forestry department and the game service which has pointed out spots where birds may be more likely to make contact with cables, she added.
Asked about accusations levied at the EAC for chronic lack of maintenance, Papadopoulou said the authority takes its responsibility for the network seriously and that “it is impossible to coppice trees in forest areas.”
When it comes to trees in urban areas, she added, their pruning is the responsibility of individual homeowners or municipalities, not the EAC, unless the branches have already become entangled in the wires creating an imminent hazard.
