Greeks were urged on Monday to limit the use of electricity amid a 11-day-long heatwave that strike the country with temperatures of 44-45 degrees Celsius. Reason is the energy grid’s warning of a power blackout.
The country’s Energy Ministry issued a statement urging citizens to limit power and thus at the peak hours of the heatwave 1:00-3:00 pm and 6:00-10:00 pm when the concrete in the urban centers recycles the heat of the day.
Citizens should turn down off lights, do not operate washing machines, ovens and water heaters and use air-conditioning at 26 ° Celsius.
The heat-wave ridden Greeks should follow not only on Monday but also for the next few days.
The advise follows the warning of the country’s energy grid ADMIE/DEDIE that raised the possibility of power outages.
Especially the August 2nd is reportedly considered as crucial for the power network endurance as the total load is estimated to be 8,700-8,800MW around 2 o’ clock and 9.600MW at the peak hours.
All available power production units are apparently available and on high alert, even though the wind turbines are not expected to operate in full capacity and the supply with the underwater cable from Italy is not going to happen.
DEDIE has reported about the dangers from the prolonged high temperatures and drew attention to damages in cables mainly in Attica due to the increased temperature on the ground that together with their load lead their operation to their thermal limits” [sic!]
PS While I’m 100% certain that the 48 scenarios were produced by some clever algorithm by some digital nomads settled in Greece, one could have come up with one and only scenario: upgrade of the old power network system. But for this the conservative neo-liberal government of New Democracy has absolute no intention to spend any money.
And to think that we pay the most expensive electricity in Europe! -There was an EU report recently, but can’t fink the link right now.
Simple way to save energy: turn fridge on lower level.
…and then getting sick from bad food 😉
i think you mean higher?
Sorry admin, but you are wrong about Greece being the most expensive country on electricity. The following 2 links proof that Greece belongs to the “somewhere in the middle” countries:
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Electricity_price_statistics
https://www.saveonenergy.com/uk/how-much-do-electricity-bills-cost-across-europe/
But you are 200% right about the cause of the power grid blackouts in Greece: completely outdated power plants and network, especially on the islands. We pay a lot of money on every bill for maintenance and renewal of those facilities but we didn’t see any improvement happening for at least the past 10 years: an outrageous theft of money by DEI.
you pay EU average…
We have seen nothing yet.
When Greece’s (EU) ‘decarbonisation’ plans really take hold and we lose the oil and natural gas generators we will truly live in interesting times.
Electric car anyone?
At least if you keep the electric car battery fully charged when there is electricity, e.g. middle of the night, if you buy an inverter you could use it to provide mains power for some essential electricity when the power is cut.
Or even just buy a battery instead!
Wouldn’t have the added warm glow of smugness for those winter days though.
Car batteries are unsuitable – all their power is ‘front end’ to start the engine but they discharge very quickly after that and are no use for electrical appliances. You need a ‘deep cycle’ battery – a big one – for any meaningful backup. I converted to solar in the last few years.
Or go off grid like us ….never had a second of power outage …..the more sunny it gets the more power we have for aircon ….perfect until 7pm when the sun goes in and then we cook!. maybe grid tie is the best option for the future or much better batteries.
PS When measured as a percentage of average annual salary it is the fifth most expensive in the EU. Simple monetary unit measures are not all that helpful with such a wide range of average salaries across the EU. Affordability is more important.
hey be reasonable here! how are those ‘green investors’ in banks and megacorporations going to book a profit without fat subsidies paid for by the customers? not spending on infrastructure means cost cutting which means ‘efficiency’ which turns into profits!
It would help if people maintained their air conditioners properly. Most have filters on the evaporator unit inside that can be easily cleaned by the homeowner, doing this will make a big difference to the level of cooling and the electricity you consume to reach a comfortable temperature. The condenser unit outside the home also needs a good airflow to remove the waste heat. Clean the outside of this too to remove anything obstructing the airflow. Every four or five years get a professional to check your air conditioners over, if they’re not cooling well they made need re-gassing.
Make sure that all refrigerators and freezers have a good airflow in and around the rear of the unit to dump the waste heat. If you can, place refrigerators and freezers in a different room to the one in which you live, the waste heat from the refrigerator/freezer will of course be warming up the room they are in. Also ensure that the door seals of refrigerators and freezers are in good condition and that they are kept clean. Any (warm) air getting in will mean they consume even more electricity trying to keep cool.
The way to conserve electricity is to use only what you really need and to ensure that all your equipment is operating as efficiently as possible.
This is an exceptionally hot and long heatwave and it’s unreasonable to expect power companies to invest in equipment to meet peak demand in uncommon heatwaves like this. If they did they’d have expensive equipment lying around unused for 95% of the time – and we’d end up paying for that.
it’s the energy grid *state” that needs to update the outdated network, the power companies can not do that. and the Greek state/Government doe snot invest because it wants to ‘sell’ DEH” and any state company dealing with essential goods like electricity, water. so simple.
Shops could save a huge amount of money on Rhodes by shutting their doors and putting an open sign on the door.