44 blocks in Tampines hit by power failure
PUBLISHED ONMarch 14, 2014 10:35 PMByYeo Sam Jo
Retiree Larry Henson was sleeping in his Tampines Court condominium on Wednesday morning when his wife woke him up to tell him that a blackout had hit their estate.
"The lifts were not working and people couldn't get out (of the estate) because the electronic car barriers and turnstile gates were also not functioning," said Mr Henson, 67.
"The guards had to disable the system so the gates could open."
A spokesman for SP PowerGrid said 44 blocks in the vicinity of Tampines Avenue 4 and streets 11, 12, 81 and 82 were affected by the blackout that took place on Wednesday at 6.24am.
SP PowerGrid officers were immediately sent to the area, she added.
Some traffic lights in the area also failed to work. Power supply was gradually restored from 6.55am and returned to normal by 7.45am. SP PowerGrid said it is investigating the cause of the incident.
MP for Tampines GRC Baey Yam Keng noted in Instagram and Facebook posts that Block 114 in Tampines Street 11 encountered another power failure around 8.40am.
"(SP PowerGrid) attended to the fault and restored the supply around 10.45am. We understand that it was due to a faulty underground cable," he wrote.
He added that no one was trapped in the lifts of 29 HDB blocks that were affected.
This is because they are all equipped with an automatic rescue device that would take the lifts to the nearest landings and open the doors in the event of a power failure.
Mr Baey told The Straits Times that he visited the area on Wednesday afternoon and did not hear any major complaints from the residents he spoke to.
"Definitely some residents were still inconvenienced," he said. "It happened at a time when it was still quite dark and some were going to work and school."
Mr Baey added: "It's quite surprising because it's quite a major blackout.
"Tampines Town Council is monitoring the situation and we will be on standby to put things in order if necessary."
yeosamjo@sph.com.sg
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