.jpg?trim=0,150,0,150&width=669&height=445&crop=669:445)
Santon residents are being warned electric faults which have left homes without power could continue due to a ‘rare’ issue.
Manx Utilities Authority (MUA) has explained why there have been a number issues throughout November and why engineers are struggling to resolve the problems.
On November 10 and 11 there was a 11,000 volt power cable failure near the Energy from Waste plant which led to 500 customers without power.
The fault was detected and a faulty section of power cable replaced
.jpeg?width=209&height=140&crop=209:145,smart&quality=75)
.jpeg?width=209&height=140&crop=209:145,smart&quality=75)
.jpeg?width=209&height=140&crop=209:145,smart&quality=75)
Then on November 20 there was a ‘transient fault’ which the MUA said ‘self-healed and became undetectable’.
Again, 550 customers were without power for three to four hours.
A similar issue occurred the for the next two days, again, with 500 customers affected
Further faults occurred across November 26/27 which left 250 customers in Santon without power for an hour.
A spokesman or the MUA said: ‘We are unfortunately managing a reoccurring electricity fault in the Santon area, which remains on watch and under investigation by our teams.
‘This type of fault is rare and known as a “transient fault” which can self-heal and then become undetectable.
‘This makes it extremely difficult to pin-point the exact location of the issue until it faults permanently or can be successively narrowed down thorough repeat events.
‘Unfortunately, this fault has now caused repeated power disruptions in the Santon area, over a number of days.’
The MUA believes the problems plaguing Santon are due in part of the wintry weather experienced recently and warned of further disruption.
The spokesman said: ‘Our teams are continuing to trace the fault which appears at this time to be associated with cold weather and temperatures dipping towards zero.
‘Once identified, urgent action will be taken to repair the damaged part of the network. However, it is possible there could be further disruptions given the nature of the fault.
‘In the meantime, we have further reconfigured the 11,000 volt network in the area, to continue to try to reduce the impact as much as possible on the number of customers at risk of supply interruptions.
‘We remain committed to identifying the cause and will provide a further update when the cause is known.’