Outside - Wärtsilä

electricity is distributed by the state-owned Public Power Company
(PPC).”
Inside the power plant, this dilemma is easy to understand. Of the
plant’s ten engines, only a few are currently running, the others sit
idle. Some are undergoing thorough maintenance before the holiday
season starts. About 15 MW of electricity is being produced.
The guide for our tour is Michael Chaniotis, Manager of
Operations. As we walk around, the plant’s history can easily be
read from the equipment: a Sulzer-Fincantieri, two GMT Fiats, a
MAN B&W 2-stroke, a few Cegielski gas turbines and two Wärtsilä
12V46 engines. It’s a fascinating orchestra, with the 2-stroke engine
in particular making it a fairly unusual combination, even in an
island location.
All the engines have been installed one after another as the demand
for energy has increased. And it’s still growing. Peaks in Paros
already rise well above the 60 MW level.
LoSing one’S SenSeS. After checking into a cosy hotel overlooking
the port, we take a stroll through the maze of tiny alleys in the old
town. Here, it’s easy to lose not only your sense of direction but also
your sense of time. An old man is selling vegetables from a basket
precariously balanced on the back of his donkey. Time has stopped.
We’re carefully inspected by a dog that’s too lazy to wag its tail.
In less than a couple of months all this will change. In August,
hardly a room will be vacant. But for the time being, we enjoy
the calm and silence of the narrow side streets. The main alleys
are dotted with tourist shops, small cafes (no Starbucks here) and
restaurants (no McDonald’s either). No-one appears to be in a
hurry – the charm of these Greek villages is hard to match and the
hospitality is among the best there is.
Life could be a lot worse. It’s easy to forget how isolated these
islands really are. In a way, the power plants are the guardians of life.
“The islands are heavily dependent on tourism, so power supplies
have to be very stable: blackouts hurt the economy – and not only
in the islands,” says yiannis Christopoulos, Service Manager of
Wärtsilä in Greece. “Nobody wants to be on vacation without
electricity if you’ve paid for it. Electricity is crucial to the economy.
The first thing that people investing in the tourist industry check
p
located as they are halfway between
italy and turkey, food in the greek
islands happily blends influences
from east and west. [far left]
Generating capacity supplied
by Wärtsilä in the Greek
islands now totals 520 MW.
Responsibilities include
service and spare parts.
reportage
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