Large parts of <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Iceland were without electricity for more than one hour yesterday due to a malfunction in a transformer plant. According to Fréttabladid daily, the blackout is not believed to have caused any significant financial damage.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” />
The electrical failure affected homes and businesses in most of West-Iceland, Westfjords and the Eastfjords. In the Reykjavík area, traffic lights went out which caused some delays for traffic.
Some of Iceland’s aluminum smelters suffered the longest blackout but within two hours most of them were running again at full capacity. If the blackout would have lasted for more than four hours, aluminum would have solidified in the pots creating considerable financial loss.
The cause of the blackout has not been fully established but is believed to have been caused by a high voltage current that touched the ground.
