Power supply to eastern Athens at risk from blaze

Greece’s power grid operator on Tuesday warned that dozens of suburbs in eastern Athens were at risk of being left without electricity as a result of a major wildfire in the capital’s north.

The warning comes as temperatures in Athens and other parts of the country soared above 40 degrees Celsius on Tuesday in the worst heatwave Greece has experienced in several decades.

“Everything humanly possible is being done by the operator’s staff to minimize the impact on consumers for the duration of the event,” the management of the Independent Power Transmission Operator (ADMIE), said in an announcement issued on Tuesday afternoon.

According to the announcement, two important circuits have been knocked out as a result of the fire in Varybobi, the first between Agios Stefanos and Acharnon and the second between Agios Stefanos, Halkidona and the Olympic Village.