SINGAPORE - Thousands of offices and businesses in the Central Business District and surrounding areas were affected by a sudden, major power outage on Friday afternoon (June 1).
SP Group said in a statement that 3,156 customers in parts of Raffles Quay, Robinson Road and Shenton Way were hit by a disruption to electricity supply at about 2.40pm.
"Our officers were immediately deployed to the affected areas and our priority was to restore supply as safely and quickly as possible," the statement said.
It added that electricity supply was progressively restored via remote switching, with services fully restored within 34 minutes, at 3.15pm.
It is investigating the cause of the disruption.
On Friday afternoon, several people reported on social media that the lifts in their buildings had stopped working and they were trapped in their offices without light. Others said that the traffic lights were also not working.
When The Straits Times arrived at The Arcade in Raffles Place at about 3pm, shop owners were seen standing along the corridor in the dark, with some using their mobile phones for light.
Ms Bernice Koh, 24, who works in digital marketing, told ST that the power went out in her fourth floor office in China Square Central in Cross Street just after 3pm.
"All of us were shocked because it went dark all of a sudden," she said. "But after that, we heard that it was not just us, and that other buildings, such as those on Robinson Road, were also affected."
She said that employees in her office stayed put till the lights were back on at about 3.30pm.
"But the Wi-Fi is still down and the air conditioner is taking some time to come back on," she added.
Twitter user Zubaidah Nazeer said at about 3.30pm that the blackout at her office in Robinson Road was ongoing for "half hour and counting".
She added that there were people stuck in the lifts in Raffles Place.
At about 3.40pm, she said that the power in Robinson Road had returned.
Others, such as Twitter user musicalhouses, said that she had to walk 28 storeys down her office building for a meeting.
Nearby in Chinatown, shoppers also reported a blackout in Chinatown Point and Hong Lim Complex.
