Tobago blackout stops THA vote recounts

A probe has been launched to determine what caused an islandwide blackout during maintenance work on circuits leaving the Cove Power Plant on Wednesday morning.

The TT Electricity Commission (T&TEC) said the power outage affected the THA election recounts which were taking place.

“T&TEC, in conjunction with the Elections and Boundaries Commission, prioritised restoration of supply to the two recount locations at Calder Hall and Glen Road to minimise delays to the process,” it said.

At 8.53am, the island experienced a blackout, which lasted roughly an hour.

In a press release T&TEC said that at approximately 6.45am, one of two transformers which steps down the voltage from the plant to the Milford Bay Substation was taken out of service.

“Two hours into the maintenance work the second transformer tripped, along with the lines from the plant to Milford Bay. The Milford Bay Substation is the primary substation that feeds the other substations on the island.

"As a result of the line and transformer trips, customers lost supply for between 20 minutes to just over one hour,” the release said.