T&TEC probing PoS substation fire

Electricity returned to Port of Spain just after midday on Tuesday when a fire at a master substation, at Power Gen, Stone Street, was put out.

The areas identified without power shortly after 11 am were parts of Park Street, parts of Duke Street, parts of Independence Square, parts of Ariapita Avenue, Victoria Avenue, and Woodford Square.

Traffic on some streets was backed up because traffic lights were not working.

Newsday visited the substation, where workers, fire officers, the police and T&TEC general manager Kelvin Ramsook were on the scene.

Ramsook said workers first reported seeing smoke coming from the substation at 11.20 am.

Fire and safety officers responded and the fire was put out about an hour later. It occurred in an enclosed and unmanned area, so no one was injured.

He said the cause of the fire had not yet been established and an investigation was under way.

"We are looking into the incident to resolve the issues," Ramsook said, adding that the damage was not substantial and restricted to an area of circuit breakers.

"At this substation, most of the gears have been replaced and we’re in the process of doing additional replacement of cable and circuit breakers."

Power was restored within an hour of the interview.