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Danny Mok

Oscar Liu

A power outage in Hong Kong’s densely populated Wong Tai Sin district plunged 2,250 households into darkness for up to four hours with at least four reports of people trapped in lifts.
Electricity firm CLP Power said on Wednesday that a fault in an 11kV cable in the district disrupted the supply for customers in the area at 8.02pm, with engineers dispatched to carry out emergency repairs. It apologised to the 2,250 customers affected.
In a statement issued late on Wednesday, the company said it was making every effort to repair the cables and expected to restore the power supply around midnight.
CLP later said power supply had resumed at 12.11am.
The affected buildings included Lung Kwong House, Lower Wong Tai Sin Estate, Mei Tak House in Mei Tung Estate and the private Lions Rise development.
Facebook users earlier reported blackouts also hit part of Wong Tai Sin Shopping Centre.
The Environment and Ecology Bureau expressed concern about the outage.
“The government is very concerned about the electrical incident that happened in Wong Tai Sin tonight, leading to a power supply outage in some buildings. Residents were trapped in lifts and might have an uncomfortable night under this hot weather,” the bureau said.
It added it had urged CLP Power to expedite the repairs, and the power company had provided temporary generators in an effort to restore power to some affected residences.

A government spokesman earlier said four cases of lift shutdowns were reported from around 8pm to 9.19pm, covering residential and industrial blocks and a shopping centre in the area.
Images circulating online show shoppers walking inside a mall during the blackout, while other pictures depict residential blocks without electricity, leaving all flats in darkness.
Online users said there was a momentary flicker of lights at 8.20pm, while others reported experiencing a sudden loss of electricity in their entire building.
Police said officers were deployed to direct traffic on Tung Tsing Road after all traffic lights stopped working at 8.15pm.
Lawmaker Ngan Man-yu of the Kowloon East geographical constituency said many buildings were affected, with residents standing around on the streets not knowing when the power supply would resume.
Some residents from the higher levels of a block at Lower Wong Tai Sin Estate chose to stay on the street for the cooler air and avoid climbing the stairs to their flats after the outage.
The temperature remained at about 29 degrees Celsius (84 Fahrenheit) at night, with the relative humidity lingering at around 85 per cent.
The Home Affairs Department said temporary shelters at Tung Tau Community Centre and Wong Tai Sin Community Centre were opened to residents in need.
It added the Wong Tai Sin District Office would closely monitor the situation, and liaise with other government departments to provide residents with appropriate help.
“CLP staff tried to locate the affected buildings and supply power by using temporary electricity generators. And they told me it could be fixed hopefully by midnight,” Ngan said.
“I also told them to post notices outside the affected buildings to let people know the status instead of them purposelessly waiting on the streets.”
Members of the Lung Ha subdistrict care team were deployed to help affected residents.

The government urged CLP Power to expedite repairs, and the utility had provided temporary generators in an effort to restore power to some affected residences. It also reminded the company to provide regular updates on the progress of repairs to keep residents informed.
CLP Power, which supplies Kowloon, the New Territories and most outlying islands, logged five supply disruptions in the first four months of this year, including three voltage dip incidents that left more than 200 residents trapped in lifts.
An existing penalty mechanism for outages requires electricity providers to pay fines based on the duration of the incident and the number of people affected.
The policy was among measures announced in December following the government’s interim review of its “scheme of control” agreements with the city’s two suppliers, CLP Power and HK Electric.
Under the mechanism, CLP Power must pay a fine of HK$20 million (US$2.56 million) or a deduction of 0.015 per cent from its permitted return if it records 15 million minutes of power disruptions in a year.
HK Electric, which supplies Hong Kong and Lamma islands, also faces a fine of HK$20 million if it has 10 million minutes of outages in a year.
Both companies can receive a 0.015 per cent incentive if they restore the supply within 65 minutes of an outage and maintain a yearly average reliability rate of 99.996 per cent or above.
The next interim review for the two energy firms will take place in 2028.

Lawmaker Michael Tien Puk-sun reiterated CLP Power needed to provide help to install lift voltage dip mitigation devices in old buildings, given the blackout caused entrapments this time.
“The devices also serve as a backup battery. Once it is triggered, it will utilise the backup power to bring the lift to the nearest floor and open the door,” Tien said. “It will work regardless if there is a power disruption or a voltage dip.”
The city has 73,000 lifts but only 22,000 are fitted with such devices allowing them to resume operations after self-inspection.
The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department said last month that such a device installed in old buildings cost more than HK$500,000. But Tien argued these devices did not cost that much after his conversation with industry leaders.


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Hong Kong society

Power cut in Hong Kong’s Wong Tai Sin puts 2,250 households in the dark for up to 4 hours

CLP engineers have been sent out for emergency repairs. Photo: Handout

Some residential building in the district have no power. Photo: Handout

The area was hit by the power cut just after 8pm. Photo: Handout

Wong Tai Sin Shopping Centre has been left without power. Photo: Handout

51,000 lifts in Hong Kong not fitted with voltage dip devices that cut risk of becoming trapped, officials reveal

Cable faults caused voltage dips and energy disruptions in Tsing Yi on two occasions at the start of the year. Photo:  Dickson Lee

CLP Power experienced five electricity supply disruptions in the first four months of this year. Photo: SCMP

Hong Kong proposes extra CLP Power penalty charges for voltage dips alongside existing power cut fines

A hillfire was the cause of a CLP Power power dip in some areas of the New Territories and Kowloon earlier this year. Photo: CLP

The government has proposed extra penalties to cover voltage dips that cause disruption, as well as for full-scale power outages. Photo: Handout 

News

Hong Kong

Society

Four cases of lift shutdowns reported, covering residential and industrial blocks and shopping centre in area


Four cases of lift shutdowns reported, covering residential and industrial blocks and shopping centre in area.


CLP Group

Energy

HK Electric