The Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) is still trying to determine how incorrect data from large photovoltaic parks reached its Distribution Control Centre, disrupting the power system and causing widespread electricity cuts last Friday.
Initial findings indicate that the problem did not originate in Cyta’s telecommunications infrastructure, including the 5G connection used for part of the data transfer.
What happened on Friday
In its initial statement, EAC said the incident involved a temporary loss of communication between the Distribution Control Centre and photovoltaic parks connected to the distribution network.
The inability to control the solar parks triggered the automatic shedding of approximately 140 MW of consumer load, with electricity supplies restored within about one hour.
The scale of the loss is considered particularly significant for Cyprus’s electricity system. Charis Zavallis, assistant director of the National Energy Control Centre at the Cyprus Transmission System Operator, previously told Politis that the largest conventional generating unit currently connected to the system is around 120 MW.
According to Zavallis, the incident highlighted the need to identify the communication failure and introduce additional safeguards to reduce the risk of a similar event recurring.
Investigation focuses on the data chain
Speaking to Politis, EAC spokesperson Christina Papadopoulou said the authority was still investigating what caused the confusion in the transmission of data from the large photovoltaic parks to its Control Centre.
She explained that the data are collected from the solar parks before being transferred by EAC to the Cyprus Transmission System Operator.
“A problem arose there and the data arrived incorrectly. The result was this outage,” Papadopoulou said.
The investigation is being conducted with all the organisations and companies involved to establish precisely where in the data chain the failure occurred.
EAC is in contact with the telecommunications provider, the company that installed the Control Centre and other internal and external partners connected to the systems concerned.
Cyta infrastructure shows no fault
Papadopoulou said Cyta’s investigation had so far found no indication of a problem within its infrastructure.
“The telecommunications company appears to have completed its investigation, and nothing points to the problem originating there,” she said, adding that EAC was continuing to examine the remaining possibilities.
Asked specifically whether a fault in Cyta’s 5G connection had been ruled out, Papadopoulou said that initial findings suggested the 5G link was not responsible.
However, the precise cause of the malfunction has not yet been established.
“We still do not know exactly what caused it. We are trying to find out where something went wrong so that it does not happen again,” she said.
Cyta conducted its own checks
Information published by Kathimerini and confirmed by company sources indicated that Cyta, whose customer is EAC, found no malfunction in the infrastructure through which it provides telemetry services to the electricity authority.
According to the same information, Cyta did not receive a request to manage an incident or inspect the fibre-optic and wireless communication infrastructure serving the photovoltaic parks after the problem emerged.
Nevertheless, the telecommunications organisation conducted checks of its systems on its own initiative. No problem that could be linked to the data transmission failure was identified.
