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Power outages in Mývatnssveit affect over 15,500 customers due to RARIK maintenance work

Thursday 24th 2024 on 14:04 in  
Iceland

In early October, over 15,500 customers of RARIK experienced power outages due to maintenance work that caused 540 MW of load at Norðurál in Grundartanga to be disrupted. The Mývatnssveit area suffered significant damage as a result.

The disruption, which occurred on October 2, led to severe fluctuations in frequency and voltage that resulted in damage to electrical devices, circuit boards, and meters in some regions, particularly in Þingeyjarsveit. Landsnet, the national grid operator, believes that new construction lines, specifically the Holtavörðuheiðarlína and Blöndulína 3, could have prevented the outage.

This incident underscores the urgent need to accelerate construction on new power lines and other essential energy infrastructure. Most notably, many homes and businesses in Mývatnssveit reported damage to their electrical equipment, with specific appliances like refrigerators, dryers, coffee machines, and central heating pumps being affected. RARIK has received around 200 damage claims so far.

According to Helga Jóhannsdóttir, the operations manager at RARIK, the rapid voltage fluctuations were so extreme that the system protections failed to respond in time. The voltage in Mývatnssveit remained unstable for about 30 minutes, leading to widespread damage.

A detailed analysis of the failure is currently underway by the engineering firm Efla, which will investigate the events surrounding the outage to identify causes and improve future protections. In the wake of this incident, RARIK and Landsnet aim to expedite compensation processes for those affected.

A community meeting is scheduled for later today in Þingeyjarsveit, where RARIK and Landsnet representatives will discuss the events leading to the widespread outages and address residents’ concerns.

Source 
(via ruv.is)