UpdateFaulty cable to blame for power blackout which affected thousands in Kowloon East
Power went out in more than 20 apartment blocks on hot summer's night after problem with 130,000-volt cable sparked small fire
A faulty transmission cable was the cause of large-scale blackouts across swathes of Kowloon East on Monday night, according to supplier CLP Power.
The power went out in more than 20 apartment blocks across Wong Tai Sin, Kwun Tong, Kowloon Bay, Ngau Tau Kok, Yau Tong and Tseung Kwan O just after 10pm.
Thousands of residents were affected, CLP Power said.
A preliminary investigation found a faulty 130,000-volt overhead transmission cable at an electricity pylon at Kowloon Peak to have caused a voltage dip which lasted for a fraction of a second.
A small fire was ignited and was put out by staff at Kowloon Peak with extinguishers. The cable was 10 years old and was last inspected last year, the company said.
When power was restored, circuits at individual buildings were overwhelmed by a sudden surge in electricity demand due to large numbers of air conditioners switched on during the hot summer’s night.
Circuit breakers in individual buildings were likely to have then tripped, said CLP chief operating officer Chow Tang-Fai, who stressed that the interruption was not an issue with the main power supply.