Residents of several Hong Kong housing estates experienced a brief power interruption on Tuesday night after a voltage dip in Sham Shui Po, power provider CLP Power said on Wednesday.
The incident occurred around 11:09 PM on July 9th, when CLP’s 11,000-volt power supply system in the area recorded a voltage sag, causing some customers to observe light flickering or dimming. CLP said certain electrical installations may have tripped due to their built-in protection mechanisms.
“Some customers might have observed light flickering or dimming during the period. Some electrical installations might have experienced tripping due to activation of the equipment’s protection mechanism,” the company stated.
Residents of Shek Kip Mei, Pak Tin, and Nam Cheong estates took to social media to report that all their lights and appliances suddenly shut down for a few seconds. CLP apologized for the inconvenience and said it is investigating the incident.
This comes just weeks after CLP submitted a report to the government explaining a major blackout in Wong Tai Sin last month. That outage was attributed to the malfunction of two power cables, possibly damaged by nearby excavation work.
Electrical engineer Edward Lo Wai-chau of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers warned that underground cables can be vulnerable to third-party construction activity. He urged CLP to enhance inspections around work sites and adopt advanced technologies to better protect its infrastructure.
Lawmakers have also called on CLP to expedite its review of power system management and make improvements to prevent future disruptions, especially during the busy summer months when demand is high.
CLP said it is conducting a comprehensive review of its operations and will submit the findings within a year. In the meantime, the company apologized for the recent inconvenience to customers in Sham Shui Po.
