Thousands of households and businesses in Oslo were without electricity on Wednesday after an excavation accident led to a fires in several transformer stations. Construction workers dug into high-powered cables near the sewage treatment plant at Bekkelag pier.
The power failure affected the areas of Bekkelaget, Nordstrand, Gamlebyen in the downtown area and all the islands in the Oslo Fjord. Homes and businesses at Ekeberg also were hit, but power was restored in most of that area by midday.
Utility firm Hafslund was alerted to the problem after alarms went for the fires at transformer stations around Bekkelaget. Power couldn’t be restored until the fires were extinguished and smoke cleared, so that crews could enter the stations and repair broken connections.
“We hope it won’t take too long, but the smoke has to be aired out before we can begin our work,” Hafslund spokesman Morten Schau told state broadcaster NRK at around 1pm.
newsinenglish.no staff
