Power Outage Hits Newfoundland After Equipment Issue at Muskrat Falls

Tens of thousands of people across Newfoundland were left without electricity this afternoon after an equipment malfunction at the Muskrat Falls plant.

According to NL Hydro, the equipment issue caused a sudden imbalance in the power system, leading to widespread outages from the Avalon to the west coast. Fortunately, most customers have had their power restored.

NL Hydro took to social media to explain the situation, stating, “We experienced an equipment issue in our Muskrat Falls plant. This caused a sudden imbalance on the system, this is short lived and customers are being restored now.”

The company also mentioned that these kinds of outages, while not common, do occur from time to time to help prevent further damage to the power system. Their goal is to keep everything running smoothly while normal functions are resumed.

In a further update, NL Hydro characterized the event as an “under frequency event,” designed to quickly balance the system by shedding loads from predetermined blocks of customers. This is a safety measure to protect the system.

Initially, customers were left in the dark with no specific restoration timeline. However, NL Hydro assured the public that efforts were underway to restore power as quickly as possible.