Yeongjong Island power outage leaves residents trapped, full restoration expected in 2-3 days

Thousands of households in Incheon's Yeongjong Island experienced a major power outage on Monday, leaving residents stranded and disrupting daily life. The blackout, which began around 5:16 PM, affected an estimated 25,169 households, with reports of repeated power surges causing further distress.

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I came back home and the elevator had stopped.

Residents described being trapped in elevators, with one individual recounting the difficulty of reaching their 31st-floor apartment. Another resident expressed concern over food spoilage due to the intermittent power supply. The situation escalated to the point where the fire department had to rescue 25 people trapped in elevators.

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I had to go up to the 31st floor, but the elevator was out of order, so I was flustered. The management office was also busy, so I couldn't get any information.

Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) attributed the outage to a failure in the transmission line equipment at the Jungsan substation. One of two transmission lines had malfunctioned on July 12, and the backup line also failed on July 13. KEPCO has implemented temporary measures by supplying reserve power from other substations.

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I had food in the refrigerator, so I kept checking how many times the power would go out. It seemed like the electricity came on and off about three times.

However, full restoration of the transmission lines is expected to take two to three days. KEPCO has issued a safety alert urging residents to conserve electricity, particularly by reducing the use of air conditioning, to prevent further outages during the ongoing repairs. This request has caused concern among residents about the usability of refrigerators and other essential appliances.

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We are currently in the process of temporarily restoring power, and it will take 2-3 days for full recovery. Cooperation with power conservation, such as refraining from using air conditioners, is needed. We apologize for the inconvenience.