ATHENS – After a more than 36-hour outage that left the popular tourist island of Hydra without electricity or water as the summer tourism season was winding down, power was restored on Aug. 27, and the electricity distribution network operator DEDHHE said it wa sorry for the inconvenience.

A pair of power generators was also shipped to the rocky island as a precaution against another blackout, the business newspaper Naftemporiki said. The blackout was because of a problem with a mainland substation in the town of Kranidi.

The Regional Governor requested from the Civil Defence General Secretariat that a State of Emergency be declared on the island which lures yachts and celebrities and people who like its picture-postcard beauty,  drawn by a ban on vehicles, apart from emergency needs.

Hydra has no water resources, and a pumping station connected to a reservoir is powered by electricity. The electricity distribution network operator, DEDDHE, said crews were on the island and the mainland to restore power and that generators could be brought as a backup if the repairs took too long.

Restaurants, supermarkets, stores and households faced the spoilage of perishable foods, cutting into the season and leaving tourists stuck too.

That came a few days after a widespread power outage hit the greater Athens area, also blamed on a malfunction at a high-voltage sub-station.

Hydra is only an hour’s ferry ride from the port of Piraeus. The problem started with a power outage at 5.30 a.m. on Aug. 25, Mayor Giorgos Koukoudakis told Kathimerini.

“The island lasted eight hours on its reserves and the power company (PPC) has said that it’s a matter of hours before power is restored, but will not say what caused the malfunction,” he said.
“You understand that the island has a lot of visitors right now and this forms a very bad impression,” he added.

Water shortages have also been experienced on the popular island of Mykonos this summer, despite measures taken by the municipal authority to respond to a spike in demand during the peak of the holiday season.

Greece’s popular island of Hydra was without power and water and the Civil Defence General Secretariat declared a State of Emergency. (Photo by Eurokinissi/Yiannis Panagopoulos)

Greece’s popular island of Hydra was without power and water and the Civil Defence General Secretariat declared a State of Emergency. (Photo by Eurokinissi/Yiannis Panagopoulos)

Greece’s popular island of Hydra was without power and water and the Civil Defence General Secretariat declared a State of Emergency. (Photo by Eurokinissi/Yiannis Panagopoulos)

Greece’s popular island of Hydra was without power and water and the Civil Defence General Secretariat declared a State of Emergency. (Photo by Eurokinissi/Yiannis Panagopoulos)

Greece’s popular island of Hydra was without power and water and the Civil Defence General Secretariat declared a State of Emergency. (Photo by Eurokinissi/Yiannis Panagopoulos)

Greece’s popular island of Hydra. (Photo by Eurokinissi/Yiannis Panagopoulos)

Greece’s popular island of Hydra was without power and water and the Civil Defence General Secretariat declared a State of Emergency. (Photo by Eurokinissi/Yiannis Panagopoulos)