Apokoronas mayor: Power pylons on Crete's mountains are a real fire risk — and we have proof

Summary

Mayor Charalampos Koukianakis of Apokoronas has issued a sharp press statement declaring that warnings about overhead power lines sparking wildfires were never exaggerated — they were true. A scientific study by the National Technical University of Athens, submitted alongside the municipality's legal challenge to the Council of State, now provides documented evidence for what local officials have argued for years. Koukianakis demands underground cabling where necessary, an end to new high-voltage pylons on Cretan mountain ranges, and accountability for the political choices — not the workers — that allowed the grid to age dangerously.

"It was never scaremongering — it was the truth"

Apokoronas takes its wildfire warning to Greece's highest court, backed by university research

For years, residents and officials in Apokoronas were told they were overreacting. Their repeated warnings — that ageing overhead power lines and high-voltage pylons posed a serious wildfire risk to Crete's forests and communities — were brushed aside. On August 4, 2026, Mayor Charalampos Koukianakis issued a pointed press statement: the evidence has arrived, and it proves they were right all along.

The mayor points to a growing body of research and real-world incidents linking electricity grid infrastructure to wildfire ignition. Most significantly, a scientific study produced by the National Technical University of Athens has been submitted as part of the municipality of Apokoronas's formal legal challenge before the Council of State — Greece's supreme administrative court. The study, the mayor says, provides documented, evidence-based support for the position the municipality has held from the start.

Blame the policy, not the workers

Koukianakis is careful to direct his anger at the right target. The employees of DEDDIE — the Greek electricity distribution network operator — are not at fault, he says. They do demanding, often selfless work on the ground every day. The responsibility lies instead with decades of political decisions: a grid allowed to grow old without adequate investment, an underground cabling programme that moved too slowly, understaffed services, and an institutional mindset that treated prevention as a cost rather than an investment.

"Instead of reflecting critically, instead of saying 'yes, we need to change course,' what do they do? They look for someone to blame among DEDDIE's workers," the mayor writes. He rejects that approach firmly.

New pylons planned despite everything

What particularly angers Koukianakis is that, even as this evidence comes to light, plans continue for new high-voltage pylons to be erected on Crete's mountain ranges. He argues this shows a refusal to learn from the tragedies that unfold every summer — and amounts to a continued assault on the natural environment.

The municipality's demands are clear:

Underground cabling wherever it is needed, prioritising fire-risk zones
Safe, modernised grid infrastructure to replace ageing overhead lines
No new high-voltage pylons on Crete's mountain landscapes
Political accountability for the decisions that created this situation

What comes next

The municipality of Apokoronas has already acted. Its legal challenge before the Council of State is on record, supported by the National Technical University study. Mayor Koukianakis has pledged to keep fighting: "We will continue to struggle, because we are defending our home, our children, and their right to live in a Crete that is safe, alive, and free."

For residents of Apokoronas and the wider Crete region, the case matters beyond local politics. If the Council of State rules in the municipality's favour, it could reshape how grid infrastructure is planned and built across the island for years to come.

Official source

Press Release – It was not scaremongering. It was the truth.

4 August 2026, 7:16 AM

Written by the Mayor of Apokoronas

Charalampos Koukianakis

For years they told us we were exaggerating, that we were scaremongering, that the pylons and live cables did not pose a serious danger to our forests and our lives.

Today, however, reality can no longer be hidden — more and more research and real incidents are revealing that in several cases fires are connected to the electricity grid. And the scientific study by the National Technical University of Athens, which accompanies the municipality of Apokoronas's appeal to the Council of State, reinforces in a documented way everything we have been arguing from the very beginning.

And instead of some people engaging in self-criticism, instead of saying "yes, we must change course", what do they do? They look for culprits among the employees of DEDDIE.

No. The workers are not to blame. They fight daily in the field, often with selfless dedication. The responsibility lies with the long-standing political choices that allowed the grid to age, that did not proceed with the speed required on the underground cabling of lines, that did not staff services adequately, and that treated prevention as a cost rather than an investment.

And while all of this comes to light today, they persist in planning new high-voltage pylons on the mountains of Crete. They persist in altering our natural environment, as if we have learned nothing from the tragedies we experience every summer.

The municipality of Apokoronas did not step back when everyone was silent — it took the matter to Justice with scientific evidence, because we believe that the protection of human life, the natural environment, and our homeland is non-negotiable.

The truth does not burn — however much they tried to hide it, it has come to the surface, and now society demands answers. No more excuses, no more scapegoats.

It demands accountability, prevention, safe networks, underground cabling where required. Respect for people and for nature.

We will continue to fight, because we are not just defending our homeland, our children, and their right to live in a Crete that is safe, alive, and free.