Alderney Electricity Ltd said its teams began a ‘black start’ to restore supplies safely after the whole island lost power early yesterday morning.
Engines at the power station were running again by about 7.40am, but the company said it could not immediately distribute power and had to physically check every substation and line to trace the fault.
The problem was later traced to the 11,000-volt high-voltage network on the eastern side of the grid.
AEL said it had ‘everyone we can spare’ working to find the fault, but that only two fully trained high-voltage electricians were able to lead the specialist work.
It said the cause could be an in-cable fault caused by an ageing cable or joint, combined with the recent spell of hot, dry weather followed by rainstorms, which may have caused ground movement.
The western side of the island, including the town and the airport, was reconnected first, restoring power to around 70% of the island’s demand. By 12.45pm, power had been restored to the Braye Harbour area, St Anne’s School and the Banquage and Weighbridge areas, with engineers then working their way east to the Kiln Farm Dairy and Longis areas.
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