Power outage at Wong Tai Sin due to 'external factors'

Ayra Wang

The power outage in Wong Tai Sin last month was led by the malfunction of two cables after they were interfered with by "external factors" - possibly damaged by excavation works, sources said.

This came as CLP submitted an incident investigation report to the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department yesterday, after a partial outage occurred in Wong Tai Sin from around 8pm on June 12, leaving part of the district in darkness and heat for more than four hours and affecting some 2,250 households and nearby shops.

The power company said a fault was detected in one of the cables located between Junction Road and Mei Tak House at 1pm on the incident day and was immediately isolated, without interrupting the one between Lung Kwong House and Chui Yuen House, which supplied power to the area where the power cut later occurred.

The company said it applied for an emergency excavation permit for cable repair from the government and arranged for an engineering team to repair the faulty cable.

However, the other cable experienced a fault, leading to the power cut at 8.02pm.

"CLP Power later conducted an investigation into the faulty cables and confirmed that each cable had a joint that had previously been interfered with by external factors, which gradually degraded the insulation and led to the two sequential faults on that day," the company said.

The company has also taken measures to enhance patrols of cable routes and power equipment in Wong Tai Sin after the incident.

"We will increase inspections of third-party construction sites to remind workers to avoid disrupting underground cables to prevent damage," the company said.

Also, CLP has conducted inspections for all customer substations in the district, which are expected to be completed by the middle of this month.

The company also plans to apply advanced technology to assess the condition of cable circuits and power equipment in the district, as well as speed up replacing identified supply infrastructure and equipment.

Additionally, CLP has enhanced communication with property management companies to improve emergency responses and has assigned a professional team to provide power quality consulting services to affected buildings.

The government has requested CLP to conduct a comprehensive review of its management, power system, and power outages and sags over the past three years, which the company needs to submit within a year.

ayra.wang@singtaonewscorp.com