An electricity blackout which affected most parts of Kuwait was due to a technical malfunction that forced a huge current to stop as a precautionary measure, the Minister of Public Works and Minister of Electricity and Water said on Wednesday.
The glitch, which affected the northern Al-Sabbiyya plant at 1920 local time, impeded the release of 2,000 megawatts out of a total 5,700 megawatts serving most of the country, said minister Abdulaziz Al-Ibrahim.
The malfunction led to the blackout which occurred by default in order to protect the electricity network as a whole, he told KUNA.
As a result additional units have been put into operation to compensate the loss of power, he added.
Meanwhile, oil installations across the country have not been affected, according a Kuwait National Petroleum Corporation (KNPC) official.
These include the three Al-Ahmadi, Mina Abdullah and Shuaiba refineries, which are currently in full operation and were not affected whatsoever by the blackout, said KNPC spokesperson Khaled Al-Asousi.
These incidents are expected and KNPC has taken precautionary measures to combat any such occurrences, he added.
Source: KUNA