Power Outage Strikes the Westfjords Amidst Severe Weather
Friday evening brought an unexpected power outage to the Westfjords, throwing daily life into disarray across the region. It started when the Mjólkár 1 transmission line — a key link in the national grid — tripped without warning.
The line tripped twice in quick succession, cutting power to several areas. The outage began at around 9:30 PM, and efforts to bring backup power online in Bolungarvík ran into delays, adding to the frustration for local residents.
Understanding the Situation
Birgir Örn Birgisson, regional manager at Orkubú Vestfjarða in Ísafjörður, put the outage down to the difficult weather conditions. When engineers reconnected the line, it tripped again — but Birgisson was quick to point out that the backup systems did their job and stopped things from getting worse.
In Dýrafjörður, homes lost power for about 30 minutes before electricity was restored.
Birgisson asked residents to be patient while the situation was brought under control, and encouraged anyone experiencing further issues with their supply during the night to report them.
It was a disruptive evening, but the response was steady and the Westfjords got through it.
