Severe weather has caused 40 medium-voltage faults across Cyprus' electricity network by midday on Saturday, while numerous smaller low-voltage faults have also been recorded, the Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) said.
The faults have triggered power outages in multiple areas across the island, according to EAC spokesperson Christina Papadopoulou.
The affected areas include seven locations in Nicosia district: Anageia, Engomi, Kokkinotrimithia, Agion Constantinos and Elenis, Agioi Omologites, Pigenia and Pano Pyrgos Tillyrias.
In Limassol district, faults have affected 15 areas, including Agios Ambrosios, Agios Therapon, Alassa, Asgata, Asomatos, Eptagonia, Kellaki, Pano Kivides, Koilani, Monagroulli, Parekklisia, Pera Pedi, Pyrgos Limassol, Souni and Trachoni.
The outage in Famagusta district is limited to the community of Avgorou.
In Larnaca district, six areas are affected: Agios Nikolaos, Melini, Meneou, Odou, Ora and Pervolia.
In Paphos district, outages have been reported in Pano Akourdalia, Amargeti, Argaka, Kato Yialia, Letymbou, Lysos, Nikokleia, Skoulli and Drymou.
A further 16 planned electricity interruptions are also in effect.
Papadopoulou said the faults were caused by intense lightning activity and strong winds, which in some cases brought tree branches down onto electricity lines.
Public urged to report only emergencies
Papadopoulou said all EAC crews across Cyprus have been mobilised and reinforced, with efforts under way to restore power as quickly as possible.
The authority has also boosted staffing at its call centres, although the volume of incoming calls remains exceptionally high.
She urged members of the public to contact the EAC call centre on 1800 only for serious incidents, such as fires involving utility poles, uprooted poles or other situations that may pose a risk to human life.
Residents were also encouraged to download the EAC Mobile application, which provides information on power outages by district, including the time faults were reported and estimated restoration times.
Lightning and winds damage equipment
Among the most serious incidents reported was a fire that destroyed a utility pole in the Kokkinotrimithia area.
In other regions, strong winds caused problems for overhead cables.
Papadopoulou highlighted a major fault in Avgorou, where a lightning strike caused extensive damage to EAC equipment, requiring replacement of affected components.
She explained that when tree branches or other foreign objects come into contact with electricity lines, automatic protection systems are activated and power supply is interrupted.
Repair crews must then inspect the line section by section to determine whether damage has been caused by lightning, fallen trees or broken cables.
Papadopoulou also referred to incidents involving sparks from power lines during periods of strong winds.
"When branches strike the cables and one cable comes into contact with the second cable, sparking occurs," she said.
She warned that if dry vegetation is present beneath power lines, sparks can ignite fires.
Such incidents naturally alarm residents, she said, adding that "people call, and rightly so", because the EAC needs to be informed of such cases.
"An inspection is required for the safety of the public," she said, explaining that for this reason restoring electricity supply can take time.
Papadopoulou noted that medium-voltage faults can affect multiple communities simultaneously, meaning that a single fault does not necessarily correspond to only one affected area.
