Anton McNulty
Electricity was restored to households on Achill Island last night (Friday) after islanders were left without power for around 14 hours.
The people of Achill Island woke up on Friday morning without electricity after a major fault at the entrance to the island cut off approximately 2,300 customers.
Crews from ESB Networks were on the ground early on Friday morning trying to identify the fault and restore power after electricity was cut off at around 5am. The reason for the power cut was not identified until the afternoon, and there was concern on the island that they may have been left without power for the weekend. However, power was eventually restored just after 7pm.
A spokesperson for ESB told The Mayo News that they identified an underground cable fault in the Achill Sound area close to the shore, beside the Michael Davitt Bridge, which links Achill to the mainland. Machinery was used to dig a trench to get to the fault and repair the problem.
A reason for the fault has not yet been identified, and ESB Networks says it will be investigating the event to ensure a similar power cut does not happen again.?The ESB spokesperson said that while she also heard rumours the power would remain off over the weekend, there was no substance to them.?The ESB cables going onto the island were moved under the water during the construction of the new Michael Davitt Bridge at Achill Sound.
