Power grid preparations in place
Development Minister Christos Folias said yesterday officials have done all they can to prepare the country’s power grid for this week’s expected heat wave. Concern has been growing that the Public Power Corporation (PPC) will need to go ahead with planned power cuts in order to avert a general blackout as demand on the system increases due to higher usage of air conditioners. «All of the relevant bodies are on high alert so that we do not have any problems during the difficult two to three days which are coming,» the minister told reporters. «What I want to make clear is that whatever is humanly possible to be done, is being done,» added the minister. PPC sources estimate electricity demand is expected to range on a daily basis from 10,000 to 11,000 megawatts this week. Last year, demand for electricity peaked at 10,600 MW. In a bid to help bolster the country’s power grid, Greece signed a deal with Turkey last week to import 200 megawatts of power during the summer months in a two-year deal. Greece will in turn export electricity to its neighbor during the winter months. Meanwhile, metals and engineering group Mytilineos said yesterday it will place its 250 MW energy plant in central Greece’s Viotia at the disposal of the Hellenic Transmission System Operator (HTSO).
