Energy Fiji Limited is requesting members of the public to verify the presence of underground assets before they undertake excavation works on a site.

The comment follows an unplanned power outage yesterday morning in the Walu Bay area because of a third party digging near the FMF Biscuit factory.

In a statement by EFL chief executive officer Hasmukh Patel, he said: “EFL teams checked the site and confirmed that the underground power cable supplying the subject area had been damaged during excavation works by FORTECH Construction PTE Limited while carrying out construction works at Flour Mills of Fiji, Walu Bay, Suva.

“The faulty underground cable portion was isolated and the power supply to the majority of the affected customers was normalised at around 12:16pm.

“Supply to the remaining two customers (FMF Biscuit Factory and Atlantic & Pacific Packaging) will be restored once the damaged cable has been repaired.”

He said digging into power cables could result in people receiving an electrical shock which can be fatal.

“A “Permit to Dig” is required for any excavations in the vicinity of EFL power cables. To verify the presence of EFL underground assets please contact EFL on 132333,” he said.

“EFL would also like to advise the public that we will take appropriate action to recover repair costs associated with damages to our assets, as well as report the same to relevant authorities (Police, Labour Department, for instance) for them to investigate and take appropriate action.

“The EFL sincerely apologises for any inconvenience caused to all our valued customers due to this unplanned power outage which was beyond our control.

When contacted last night for comment, FMF managing director Ram Bajekal, said “refer to the statement from EFL on the incident.

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