Thunder and lightning struck the capital area and south Iceland yesterday. A lightning hit an electrical cord at 4.18 pm, cutting off electricity for 20 minutes.
Páll Magnússon of electrical company Icegrid told Fréttabladid that the lightning had cut the power between Sigalda Power Station in the central highlands and Krafla in the north, Iceland’s main geothermal power station, causing a black-out from Kirkjubaejaklaustur in the south to Vopnafjördur in the east.
Magnússon said Icegrid would be monitoring the electrical system closely for awhile, especially as the weather will stay stormy, but he said there is no need to worry as the system is secure.
Thorsteinn Jónsson of the Icelandic Meteorological Office told Fréttabladid that the lightnings yesterday had mostly stayed high up in the clouds. He said the weather is unlikely to change until next weekend.
