KNN.... i think a summary execution is in order for whichever
idiot who started us on this gas power thingy.....
Blackout hits many areas after gas supply failure
By Woon Wui Tek
FROM about 10pm last night, a quickly spreading blackout plunged
many parts of Singapore into darkness.
Darkness falls over Jurong East and even traffic slowed down, as
street lamps and traffic lights also went out. -- WONG KWAI
CHOW
Not just home lights, but street lamps and traffic signals winked
out, causing traffic in Hougang and Sengkang to slow to a crawl as
half-blinded motorists switched on their high beams.
Other anxious Singaporeans, thumbing their mobile phones as they
wondered if there had been a terrorist-related disruption, only
jammed the networks.
As it turned out, the blackout, the Energy Market Authority (EMA)
said, was caused by a disruption of the supply of natural gas from
neighbouring Indonesia.
It did not elaborate.
Restoration of power got under way almost at once, with generators
switching to diesel: By 10.30pm, the darkness was beginning to be
pushed back in places like Bishan.
Clementi and Sengkang went bright again at about 10.45pm and Eunos
at around 11pm. By 12.15am, according to Singapore Power, power had
been restored in all areas.
Though one taxi crashed in Queensway, police officers took to the
streets to regulate traffic, while land lines in homes and train
services were never affected.
Recalled Singapore MRT spokesman Chin Yen Yen: 'The first thing I
did when my house in Bukit Batok had a blackout was look out to see
if our trains were still running, and they were! We have back-up
power for our trains.'
However, the Singapore Civil Defence Force responded to 20 calls of
people trapped in lifts.
Some of those marooned in darkness at home, like Singapore Netball
Association president Ivy Singh-Lim, 55, feared the worst.
She told The Straits Times from her Neo Tiew Road home: 'I tried
calling the Neighbourhood Police Post on a 1800 number as well as
999, but all the lines were engaged.
'Actually, the police should have some kind of a backup to handle
such emergencies.
'I can't believe this!'
So widespread was the blackout - it also hit Ang Mo Kio, Clementi,
Woodlands, Toa Payoh, Serangoon and Ghim Moh, as well as the
Holland Village and Mohamed Sultan Road leisure spots - that only a
few areas, including Yishun and parts of the south, escaped.
Last night's was the third such significant incident this year,
with the most recent one, lasting about 20 minutes, having been
triggered on April 20, after the Nicoll Highway collapse. A week
earlier, 80,000 households had to go without power for an
hour.
In August 2002, a gas-supply disruption from Indonesia was also
blamed for a 90-minute blackout after seven of Singapore's nine
gas-fired generating plants shut down.
The Energy Market Authority may fine a company up to $1 million, or
10 per cent of its revenue, for negligence.
Its licence can even be revoked.
A cracking of the whip would suit the likes of an irate Madam Daisy
Sum, who had to take a cold shower in candlelight in her Siglap
home.
She said: 'Singapore is not a Third World country. We have every
right to expect better.'
But others made the best of the blackout: Student Annabelle Danker,
22, and her friends at Holland Village lit up the night with
sparklers and glow sticks.
'We can't go home anyway, so we might as well have some fun,' she
said.
