The blast occurred around 05:00 when a major breaker failure at the Nikitas/Güneşköy facility damaged a main transformer, triggering automatic protections and taking generation units offline. KIB-TEK said it had isolated the damaged section and begun phased re-energization; by 22:00 on Friday, General Manager Dalman Aydın reported that power was restored nationwide, but warned that the grid remained fragile. On Sunday, he added that full normalisation was unlikely before Wednesday, with short, localised cuts expected until then.
EL-SEN union head Ahmet Tuğcu blamed the explosion on poor maintenance, alleging that neglected air conditioning at the transformer yard led to overheating and failure, causing significant damage to the equipment. He cautioned that constraints at the substation would persist as crews worked to reroute supply.
The Prime Minister of the internationally unrecognized TRNC, Ünal Üstel, convened an extraordinary Cabinet session on Sunday and ordered a sweeping probe examining negligence, external interference, and other possibilities. Police opened an investigation, and Ankara was asked to dispatch technical experts. Üstel said measures to ensure stable generation would be completed within 15 days and described sabotage as a strong possibility. EL-SEN and opposition parties rejected that claim, arguing the crisis stems from chronic maintenance and governance failures.
The disruption rippled across public services: social security systems stalled, hospitals and vulnerable residents faced heightened risk, and tourism operators reported significant operational challenges amid rising generator and fuel costs. President Ersin Tatar visited the substation to review ongoing works. Meanwhile, the government pledged to accelerate an electrical interconnection with Turkey and to tender for four mobile generator units, reviving broader debates over grid modernization, maintenance regimes, and emergency planning.
Accumulated Chronic Problems
While investigations continue, union accounts suggest a preventable failure at a critical node, compounded by thin reserve margins and aging energy units. Even after supply was largely restored Friday night, the loss of a single unit left the grid exposed to demand spikes—necessitating Monday’s emergency imports from the Republic of Cyprus and continued load shedding. The episode highlights how a single fault can propagate system-wide when redundancy, maintenance, and reserves are inadequate.
The power sector’s vulnerabilities are rooted in international isolation that limits access to finance, equipment and regional power markets; an aging, oil-fired generation fleet with frequent forced outages; deferred maintenance at substations and auxiliaries; insufficient reserve capacity and grid bottlenecks; slow, politicised procurement and scarce spare parts; governance instability and weak accountability at KIB-TEK; tariff and collections gaps that strain finances; regulatory weaknesses and uneven grid code enforcement; constrained renewable integration with minimal storage and demand response; inadequate physical and cyber security, black-start and contingency capabilities; climate-driven peak loads outpacing capacity; shortages of specialised technical staff; and limited emergency preparedness, communications and mobile backup. Without sustained investment, professionalised maintenance, and stronger institutions, the grid will remain one failure away from crisis.
Photo: Generated by Gemini AI.