'Power supply to resume at Tsuen Wan Centre'

Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Alice Mak, expected that electricity at Tsuen Wan Centre would be restored by noon on Tuesday after a power blackout hit the facility on Monday.

The disruption to the supply of electricity and fresh water, caused by an equipment malfunction, affected around 1,000 customers at the centre.

Speaking on an RTHK programme, Mak noted that power restoration work at the centre's electric meter room had been "proceeding smoothly", adding that supplier CLP Power had replaced certain parts of the equipment and was conducting a final check of the power system.

She added the inspection, which started at around 10am on Tuesday, might last around one to two hours, after which power would be fully restored.

Separately, Mak noted district councillors and community care teams had so far received around 200 assistance requests.

"Many of these requests are general inquiries regarding when power will be restored, the reasons for the outage, and the location of shelters. There are also numerous requests for delivering water, supplies, and food," she said.

Mak added that around 100 people stayed at the five temporary shelters set up by the government, including more than 70 residents from a disabled care home.

The shelters were also equipped with activity rooms for dog owners to bring along their canines for accommodation.

Separately, the home affairs chief noted that power blackouts tend to occur more frequently during the summer time due to rain, water leakage, as well as increased electricity usage.

She called on the city's owners' corporations and property management firms to ramp up inspections during the summer to ensure "all electricity meter boxes and related power equipment are in safe conditions" and to avoid water leakage which might also affect power supplies.

Edited by Tony Sabine ...