Power grid operator IPTO’s pivotal Koumoundourou high-voltage substation, serving the wider Athens area, will be ready to counter elevated electricity demand levels of the summer season as the installation of a new autotransformer, required following an explosion and fire at the unit in February, has been completed, enabling the facility to return to full capacity, expected within the next few days.

Since the accident, the substation has operated below full capacity, following temporary adjustments.

The Koumoundourou substation’s return to full capacity promises to reinforce the country’s grid security, especially in the Peloponnese, as the summer’s power-demand peaks draw nearer.

Besides the fire-related repair work, the Koumoundourou substation is also undergoing an overall revamp, budgeted at 46 million euros. Work on this upgrade, scheduled to require a total of two and a half years to complete, is expected to be completed in September, 2023.

Once completed, the upgrade will enable the substation to take on a significant proportion of the electricity load needed in the wider Athens area, while it will also serve as the connection point for the Crete-Athens grid interconnection, expected to be completed within 2023.

The substation will also serve as a terminal for the Eastern Corridor (400 kV) from the Peloponnese to the mainland, whose completion is expected in 2024.