Greece’s ageing electricity-distribution network is under growing scrutiny as authorities investigate whether power lines and equipment failures caused some of the country’s most destructive wildfires this year.
Preliminary findings by Greece’s arson-crimes unit suggest that fires associated with the electricity network account for about 75% of the total area burned in the country this year.
Two deadly wildfires in Western Attica and Crete in late July were also linked to the power network, according to the initial investigations. The blazes burned more than 36,000 hectares and killed four people.
Experts say ageing lines, sagging cables and faults in transmission or distribution equipment can produce sparks, particularly during strong winds and periods of elevated electricity demand.
Greece’s power-distribution operator HEDNO disputes suggestions that the network is responsible for a large share of wildfires. It said around 1% of the fires recorded in 2025 were attributed to electricity infrastructure.
The figures are not directly comparable: investigators’ estimate refers to the proportion of land burned in 2026, while HEDNO’s figure refers to the share of recorded fires in 2025.
Critics accuse Greek authorities of moving too slowly to modernise the distribution network and place vulnerable power lines underground.
About 14% of the network is currently underground, up from approximately 9% in 2021.
Experts say burying the entire network would be prohibitively expensive and have called for investment to be prioritised in areas facing the highest wildfire risk.
Greek authorities have opened investigations and initiated legal proceedings in several cases in which electrical equipment is suspected of starting fires.
The scrutiny comes as Mediterranean countries face increasingly severe wildfire seasons, with prolonged heat, drought and strong winds creating conditions in which even a single spark can rapidly develop into a major blaze.